How Ethical Behavior of Firms is Influenced by the Legal and Political Environments: A Bayesian Causal Map Analysis Based on Stages of Development

Even though potential impacts of political and legal environments of business on ethical behavior of firms (EBOF) have been conceptually recognized, not much evidence (i.e., empirical work) has been produced to clarify their role. In this paper, using Bayesian causal maps (BCMs) methodology, relationships between legal and political environments of business and EBOF are investigated. The unique design of our study allows us to analyze these relationships based on the stages of development in 92 countries around the world. The EBOF models structured through BCMs are used to explain how EBOF in a given country group are shaped by how managers perceive political, legislative, and protective environments of business in these countries. The results suggest that irregular payments and bribes are the most influential factors affecting managers’ perceptions of business ethics in relatively more advanced economies, whereas intellectual property protection is the most influential factor affecting managers’ perceptions of business ethics in less-advanced economies. The results also suggest that regardless of where the business is conducted in the world, judicial independence is the driving force behind managers’ perceptions of business ethics. In addition, the results of this study provide further support for scholars who argue that business ethics is likely to vary among countries based on their socio-economic factors. In addition to its managerial implications, the study provides directions for policy makers to improve the ethical conduct of businesses in their respective countries.     

Movements of People for Movements of Goods?

Whilst it is well established to think of international tourism as a type of exports, namely ‘home’ exports, the potential of tourism flows as an engine for fostering trade among countries is a poorly studied topic. In this paper, we show that this relationship can be studied at a very detailed level by exploiting the disaggregation of existing information on international trade and inbound tourism. We consider a sample of 25 countries belonging to the European Union, a region that has been interested by common shocks such as the establishment of the euro as the new currency for many countries and the liberalisation in the air transport market. We carry out a panel data analysis by means of which we assess whether international tourist arrivals by a given country activate additional exports towards the same country. We find not only that tourism can promote exports, but also that this effect displays important differences depending on whether or not consumption goods are considered. This finding is consistent with the idea that the experience of tourists in a given destination reduces the fixed costs of trade, thus facilitating access to the advantages of international trade for more peripheral economies.     

Visitors’ pro-environmental behavior and the underlying motivations for natural environment: Merging dual concern theory and attachment theory

As nature-based tourism has recognized the seriousness of environmental issues, tourists’ pro-environmental behaviors have gained the attention of scholars and practitioners. However, previous empirical studies have not considered motivational factors and destination-related constructs within the tourism context. With the data collected from nature-based tourists, the findings of this study reveal the significant association between personal values and motivations and the significant impact of anticipated positive affect on pro-environmental behavior among nature-based tourists. Also, the findings address that the impact of empathetic concern on pro-environmental behavior is moderated by a level of place attachment to a nature-based destination.     

Local residents’ perception about tourism and foreign residents: A Spanish case study

It is important to learn about local residents’ perceptions in relation to tourism and the presence of tourists who eventually become foreign residents, since tourism development is bound to have consequences of an economic, sociocultural, and environmental nature. This paper has collected quantitative as well as qualitative information to analyze those effects in the case of a tourism destination located on Costa Blanca (Spain). The impact of tourism development is additionally associated with local residents’ satisfaction with their municipality. According to the conclusion reached, a connection exists between that satisfaction amongst local residents and the availability of new business opportunities, the development, and maintenance of good relationships between local residents, foreign residents and tourists, and the international atmosphere that arises as a result.     

Consumer information-seeking behaviour in the travel decision-making process

One popular tourism promotional medium available to tourism destination marketing organizations is destination-specific travel information packages made available to potential visitors upon request. This paper discusses the importance of the tourist-directed information package as a promotional tool. The findings of this study indicate significant differences between information-seeking tourists and non-information-seeking tourists with regard to their socio-economic and vacation travel characteristics.     

The factors influencing STD through SOR theory

Smart Tourist Destinations (STDs) are revolutionising the tourism landscape by leveraging technology to enhance tourism experiences. Nonetheless, this study shows that little attention has been paid to how tourists' perceptions impact the use of tourism applications within STDs. To address this gap, the study introduces a unique conceptual framework based on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) model. This approach considers various aspects, such as social, cultural, physical and environmental stimuli, while also considering satisfaction and perceived value as internal responses and loyalty as the ultimate response. A quantitative study of 554 tourists visiting the STD of Cáceres was conducted to validate this framework. The findings provide insights into the relationships among stimuli, mobile apps and loyalty, offering transformative potential for shaping tourists' attitudes and behaviours. Overall, this study sheds light on the transformative potential of technological solutions in STDs and presents practical implications for destination management and the development of effective strategies to improve tourism experiences.     

Does Bank Diversification Improve Output Growth? Evidence from the Recent Global Crisis

This study examines whether the diversity of activities conducted by the banking sector in the years approaching the recent global financial crisis alleviated the adverse impact of the crisis. Using data for 28 industries in 66 countries, we find that bank diversification has strengthened country resilience to the crisis, as measured by industry growth over the period 2008–2009. However, we find that while both bank‐based and market‐based economies have been affected negatively by the crisis, the contribution of bank diversification in mitigating the real impact of the crisis is pronounced only in bank‐based economies. Overall, our findings suggest that countries with significant bank diversification have also been the most resilient to the recent global crisis.     

Incentives and Disincentives of Corporate Environmental Disclosure: Evidence from Listed Companies in China and Malaysia

Previous studies on motivations for corporate environmental disclosure (CED) in emerging countries are generally undertheorized and have neglected to investigate disincentives. This study addresses this gap using legitimacy theory to determine whether differences exist between Chinese and Malaysian managers in relation to incentives and disincentives for CED. Our findings reveal that differences exist suggesting that legitimization strategies, if employed, vary and perceptions of legitimacy threat differ between countries. The study also reports that the dominating incentive for managers in both countries is to appear reputable; implying a strategic CED approach is undertaken in an attempt to alter public perceptions about the legitimacy of an organization. Interestingly, the incentive of regulatory pressure was found insignificant in both countries in persuading companies to engage in CED. Finally, potential damage to a company's reputation received considerable support from all respondents revealing a degree of uncertainty about CED. Overall, the study contributes to the literature on CED practices in emerging economies and points to some policy suggestions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Consumer Perceptions of Nonnutritive Sweetened Coffee in the Quick Service Restaurant Industry

This study aims to explore consumer perceptions of sugar-free specialty coffee in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) segment. Sugar-free specialty coffee products are made using nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS). Participants from a nationwide panel were surveyed about purchase intent of two categories of specialty coffee: syrup-sweetened with sugar or NNS in four popular flavors. Consumer demographics were used in a multistep multiple regression. The study found that, overall, females and younger consumers are most likely to purchase specialty coffee beverages. Additionally, an interaction revealed that younger consumers are most likely to purchase sugar-sweetened coffee beverages, whereas little variation in purchase intent was found between NNS and sugar-sweetened coffee beverages in older consumers.     

South Korea’s outward direct investment and its dyadic determinants: Foreign aid,bilateral treaty and economic diplomacy

This study investigates the factors that affect South Korean outward foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries. Most previous studies focus on monadic factors and do not consider how and to what extent bilateral relationships between South Korea and the host countries affect the investment decisions of Korean firms. The current study finds that interstate factors such as South Korea's international investment treaties with and official development assistance to host countries have positive effects on FDI to these countries, while presidential visits have strong and statistically significant effects on FDI only in countries located in non-Asian regions, especially the African continent. The findings suggest that the effects of bilateral relations on South Korea's FDI vary depending on the geographic location of the host country.     

城市旅游地入境旅游负面感知评价研究 ——以苏州为例

厘清入境旅游发展过程中游客的负面感知情况,有助于针对性解决入境旅游市场增长缓慢、游客结构失衡等问题.本文选取苏州作为案例地,搜集入境游客的网络点评和游记,并运用扎根理论的方法进行分析,归纳出苏州入境旅游负面感知评价包括:传播形象不鲜明,核心吸引力不足,旅游服务质量不高,国际化旅游环境氛围欠缺4个核心范畴,且入境游客负面...     

The macroeconomics outcome of oil shocks in the small Eurozone economies

In this work, we provide an analysis over the period 1999–2015 of the effects of oil shocks on prices and GDP in a group of small Euro-area economies. The group includes Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. In order to characterise the macroeconomic outcomes of movements in oil prices, we adopt the structural vector autoregression (VAR) methodology. We find that under the European Monetary Union (EMU), oil price shocks have been important drivers of business cycle fluctuations in almost all these countries. Moreover, an increase in oil prices produces significant recessionary effects in all the countries included in the investigation. Thus, although there are different sizes in the responses of output in the investigated countries, our main conclusion is that despite the structural changes experienced by the European economies in the last decades, oil prices still matter for these countries. In the light of these results, we also stress some important challenges for the conduct of monetary policy in the Euro area.     

Travel deterrents to regional destinations

Travel motivation is prevalent in the tourism literature. Very few studies however have examined travel deterrents to visiting popular destinations. This study approaches from travel motivation understand why tourists do not visit regional destinations and from tourists’ background to identify who do not visit these destinations with a focus on well-known regional destinations in Australia. The results show that convenience to the destinations, timing, motivation and tourist attractions are the major deterrents, and the level of these deterrents is dependent upon some of the demographic background of tourists. The findings and implications conclude this paper.     

An exploratory case study of hotel e‐marketing in Ho Chi Minh City

Many developing countries have made tourism their top national priority for economic development, and e‐tourism is being promoted due to its relatively low start‐up costs and its high potential to attract foreign capital. However, with a low overall level of e‐readiness, deploying e‐tourism is a rather overwhelming endeavor. This article presents a case study that uses extensive field data collection to assess the effectiveness of Web technology in promoting tourism in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This city was selected because its tourism industry has been recognized for making a concerted effort to target foreign visitors and its hotels have been among the most important adopters of e‐commerce in the country. This study assists in better understanding the opportunities, challenges, and guidance necessary for e‐tourism to be effective in developing economies. Most interestingly, e‐commerce—intended to be the enabler of a seamless, highly competitive economy—can be a key competitive advantage for those who use it effectively in a less than perfect e‐market. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Does live performance play a critical role in building destination brand equity — A mixed-method study of “Impression Dahongpao"

A tourism live performance is a critical carrier of localism. It condenses local symbols and creates a significant approach to building a destination brand. However, to date, few studies have investigated this significant topic. To address the unresolved problem of the function and mechanism of the effect of a live performance on destination brand equity, this study employed a quantitative-dominant, concurrent nested mixed-method approach using 507 questionnaires (Study 1) and 14 semistructured interviews (Study 2). Based on symbolic interaction theory, the results confirmed that tourism live performance enhanced the destination brand equity, and the key link is for tourists to achieve a flow experience. Further, creative performance, visual appeal, cultural contact and authenticity created tourists' flow experience. The original findings of this study provide potential contributions to the development of destination brand equity.     

Modeling economic growth with tourism for small open economies

The purpose of the paper is to develop an economic growth model and analyze the impact of changes in tourists’ income on the growth of tourism dependent small open economies. We use a general theoretical construct to answer the question of how the price elasticity of tourism demand, income elasticity of tourism demand, and the concentration in the service sector influence the economic development of small economies. One of the main results is that the policy planners in small open economies may consider specific policies to influence the strength of market competition. An ensuing effect of such policies is that the labor incomes will increase. The approach provides a microeconomic foundation for macroeconomic modeling which can be used for applied research, and the model can be easily extended to examine other dimensions of economic development.     

文化旅游真实性感知对旅游者忠诚的影响机制研究——基于旅游者幸福感的中介效应

以往研究在文化旅游真实性感知对旅游者忠诚的影响问题上,得出了不同的结论,在存在主义真实性对旅游者忠诚的影响上存在较大分歧,内在机制尚不清晰。文章以幸福感的两个维度——享乐幸福感和实现幸福感为中介,研究文化旅游真实性感知的两种类型——客体相关真实性和存在主义真实性对旅游者忠诚的影响机制。研究结果表明,客体相关真实性对旅游者忠诚的影响被享乐幸福感和实现幸福感部分中介;存在主义真实性对旅游者忠诚的影响被享乐幸福感和实现幸福感完全中介。文章以幸福感为中介,丰富了文化旅游真实性感知对旅游者忠诚的影响机制研究,同时从享乐幸福感和实现幸福感入手,扩展了旅游者幸福感研究方向,为旅游目的地忠诚研究提供了新的视角。     

Market Reforms and Commodity Price Volatility: The Case of East African Coffee Market

The goal of this paper is to examine the impact of commodity market reforms on producer price volatility using evidence from the East African coffee market. The results, based on time‐varying volatility models and key summary statistics, show that coffee market reforms in the East African Community (EAC) are associated with changes in producer price volatility and volatility persistence at both country and regional levels. However, reforms were not the only cause of changes in price volatility. The study further shows that reforms had different effects on prices volatilities of Arabica and Robusta varieties of coffee grown in individual EAC countries. These findings have wider implication for commodity market reforms and producer price stabilisation policies in the EAC and coffee producing countries in sub‐Sahara Africa.     

The moderating effect of culture on overall perceived value in the online purchasing process

This study analyzes differences in the formation of overall perceived value of a tourism service purchased online, taking tourists’ national culture as a moderating variable. The intention is to understand the influence of cultural dimensions on the antecedents and consequences of overall perceived value amongst consumers of different cultures. The sample is made up of 300 tourists (150 British and 150 Spanish) who have purchased a tourism service via the Internet. The two cultures to which the tourists belong differ in terms of the cultural dimensions of uncertainty-avoidance and individualism–collectivism. The findings reveal that in the formation of overall perceived value—which embraces both the online purchase phase and also consumption of the tourism service—moderating effects are generated principally by the cultural dimensions of uncertainty-avoidance and individualism/collectivism. The key practical implications of the study are to understand the variations on overall perceived value when making an online purchase, and to understand the role played by cultural dimensions in interactions with web-based businesses.     

Twenty Shades of Italy: An Analysis of its Cultural,Natural, and Dual Tourist Attractions with Implications for Global Tourism Marketing

ABSTRACT

Natural and cultural tourism are the two main motivations for international tourists. The country of Italy is recognized for both of these dimensions. To fully understand the tourism characteristics of this geographically diverse and historically rich land, we compare 20 regions of Italy and identify major natural, cultural, and dual (both natural and cultural) tourist attractions as well as the number of tourists across these 20 regions. As far as we know, it is the first study of its kind to analyze tourism in Italy at the regional level. The findings of this research reveal four distinct clusters based on the regions resulting from “high versus low number of attractions” by “high versus low number of tourists.” We also analyzed secondary data on region-wise tourist-nights using discriminant analysis. The results showed that the dual (both cultural and natural) attraction sites are the most important in explaining differences in tourism across the different regions of Italy. We discuss implications of the results for global tourism marketing.