Content analytic approach to measuring constructs in operations and supply chain management

This paper presents and illustrates the content analytic approach to measuring constructs in operations and supply chain management (OSCM). In this paper, a methodological review of OSCM empirical research in 2002-2007 is provided to highlight that OSCM empirical studies, unlike those in other business disciplines, have rarely used content analysis as a methodological tool. This paper then reviews the methodological strengths of content analysis, which lie primarily in its malleability, economy of data collection, repeatability, and unobtrusiveness. These strengths not only make content analysis a viable empirical method but also position it as a method that can be used in concert with other empirical methods in OSCM research, such as survey, case study, and secondary research methodologies. This paper also proposes a generic framework for a content analytic approach to measuring theoretical constructs, illustrates the application of the framework to a construct in the OSCM literature (buyer-supplier relationalism), and reports the satisfactory results of reliability and validity tests for the content analysis-based measure of buyer-supplier relationalism. In addition, this paper proposes and demonstrates that the use of convergence study in tandem with content analysis can substantially reduce the content analysis efforts needed in measuring the construct of interest, thus improving the overall efficiency of the process of content analysis.     

ARE EMPIRICAL MEASURES OF MACROECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY ALIKE?

Abstract There is a plethora of time series measures of uncertainty for inflation and real output growth in empirical studies but little is known whether they are comparable to the uncertainty measure reported by individual forecasters in the survey of professional forecasters. Are these two measures of uncertainty inherently distinct? This paper shows that, compared with many uncertainty proxies produced by time series models, the use of real‐time data with fixed‐sample recursive estimation of an asymmetric bivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model yields inflation uncertainty estimates which resemble the survey measure. There is, however, overwhelming evidence that many of the time series measures of growth uncertainty exceed the level of uncertainty obtained from survey measure. Our results highlight the relative merits of using different methods in modelling macroeconomic uncertainty which are useful for empirical researchers.     

ECONOMETRICS FOR GRUMBLERS: A NEW LOOK AT THE LITERATURE ON CROSS‐COUNTRY GROWTH EMPIRICS

Abstract Since the seminal contribution of N. Gregory Mankiw, David Romer and David N. Weil in 1992 the growth empirics literature has used increasingly sophisticated methods to select relevant growth determinants in estimating cross‐section growth regressions. The vast majority of empirical approaches, however, limit cross‐country heterogeneity in production technology to the specification of total factor productivity, the ‘measure of our ignorance’. In this survey, we present two general empirical frameworks for cross‐country growth and productivity analysis and demonstrate that they encompass the various approaches in the growth empirics literature of the past two decades. We then develop our central argument, that cross‐country heterogeneity in the impact of observables and unobservables on output as well as the time‐series properties of the data are important for reliable empirical analysis.     

Measures of corruption and determinants of US corruption

This paper contributes to the literature by examining whether conclusions from empirical models of corruption determinants are robust with respect to three alternative measures of corrupt activity for the US states. Are the determinants of US corruption sensitive to the choice of the measure of corruption? Overall, the answer to this question is that the choice of the measure of corruption matters in explaining corruption. However, some findings are robust across measures. For instance, greater educational attainment lowers corruption, while greater judicial employment adds to corruption. Southern states were found to be more corrupt, ceteris paribus. We also provide evidence that it is important to control for enforcement efforts in empirical modeling using convictions as a measure of corruption. Significant differences, however, across corruption measures occur in a number of other instances. Specifically, the effects of urbanization, economic prosperity, population size, media, government spending, and enforcement are sensitive to the measure of corruption. Further, the influences of the nation’s foreign neighbors and of the location of the state relative to the nation’s capital remain unclear.     

消费者敌意与品牌信任——基于中国市场上日本品牌的实证研究

目前在营销研究的文献中还没有关于消费者敌意与品牌信任之间关系的实证研究。本文旨在填补此空白,研究消费者敌意与品牌信任不同维度之间的关系。本文采用定量研究的方法,在互联网上进行了问卷调查,共获得85份答卷。研究表明消费者敌意对品牌的能力信任没有显著影响,而对品牌的善意信任有负面影响并且需要通过善意信任对品牌总体信任产生影响;研究结果支持了金玉芳的品牌信任结构模型,为弱化消费者敌意对品牌信任的负面影响提供了策略方向。     

Disentangling acquisition experience: A multilevel analysis and future research agenda

Research interest in firms repeatedly involved in acquisitions has increased over the past decade. However, this increase has remained unmatched by efforts to integrate what is known, leaving the acquisition experience research field scattered, in turn hampering further theoretical and empirical progress. Taking a broad approach to experience, we review 106 empirical studies published in leading journals that focus on the effects of past acquisitions on subsequent ones. We discover three distinct but complementary ways in which research has dealt with experience. Moreover, research on acquisition experience has drawn conclusions on three important but insufficiently integrated levels of analysis. Our review delineates and systematises the current theoretical and empirical progress in acquisition experience research and outlines a future research agenda.     

Revisiting the concentration versus spreading debate as a successful export growth strategy: the case of UK SMEs exporting agricultural-related products

This paper investigates the behaviour of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that export agricultural-related products from the UK. Although a body of knowledge exists on both the areas of export strategy and competitiveness, empirical data has tended to relate to manufacturing as opposed to agricultural products. Multivariate quantitative analysis of survey data and subsequent findings from interviews indicate that limited statistical differences exist between the competitiveness of agricultural firms that employ as a growth strategy an approach which concentrates on key export markets compared with those that spread their efforts over a number of markets. Firm size, experience and commitment are investigated as co-variates within the analysis. Implications for policy-makers are drawn from the findings.     

外资引入与我国产业安全问题研究

随着我国引资力度的不断加大,外资数量不断增加的同时,我国产业对外依存度节节攀升,控制力逐步被削弱,产业安全问题日益凸显。本文以第一产业为例进行了实证分析,指出引入外资虽然对我国的产业有积极的影响但是同时我们也应看到它的负面效应,外资数量不是越多越好,过度的外资涌入会不利于国家产业安全,要注重外资的质量和效果。     

Inbound foreign direct investment and domestic entrepreneurial activity

There is an interesting and lively debate going on in the academic literature intersecting trade policy and entrepreneurship. Several studies have shown that inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) has a negative effect on rates of entrepreneurship, while others find the opposite – a higher rate of new firm creation associated with increased inbound FDI. We study the phenomenon using a cross-country analysis of data on entrepreneurs from 38 countries and from 2001 to ? 2008. Results indicate that inbound FDI has negative associations with five types of entrepreneurship (nascent, new, early-stage, established, and high-growth) measured by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey. In our discussion, we argue that our study supports the contention that studies counting new limited liability company registrations do not always measure the same thing as entrepreneurial entries (self-reports), leading to different, even opposite results when subjected to empirical analysis.     

Dialects,cultural identity,and economic exchange

We study the effect of cultural ties on economic exchange using a novel measure for cultural identity: dialects. We evaluate linguistic micro-data from a unique language survey conducted between 1879 and 1888 in about 45,000 German schools. The recorded geography of dialects comprehensively portrays local cultural similarities that have been evolving for centuries, and provides an ideal opportunity to measure cultural barriers to economic exchange at a fine geographical scale. In a gravity analysis we show that cross-regional migration flows in the period 2000–2006 are positively affected by historical dialect similarity. Using different empirical strategies, we show that this finding indicates highly time-persistent cultural ties that foster economic exchange across regions.     

Lessons from innovation empirical studies in the manufacturing sector: A systematic review of the literature from 1993–2003

What is innovation and what determines its development in manufacturing firms? The literature on the topic has evolved exponentially during the last decades. However, the divergence of the research results makes it so that the innovation process is still poorly understood. Relying on a systematic review of empirical studies published between 1993 and 2003, this article propose and discuss a framework which brings together a set of variables related to the innovation process and the internal and contextual factors driving it. The ensuing results highlight several avenues which would help managers and policy makers to better foster innovation and researchers to better channel their efforts in studying the phenomenon.     

Local inference for locally stationary time series based on the empirical spectral measure

The time varying empirical spectral measure plays a major role in the treatment of inference problems for locally stationary processes. The properties of the empirical spectral measure and related statistics are studied — both when its index function is fixed or when dependent on the sample size. In particular we prove a general central limit theorem. Several applications and examples are given including semiparametric Whittle estimation, local least squares estimation and spectral density estimation.     

Capitalizing on the cultural and linguistic diversity of mobile talent: lessons from an Australian study

Abstract

To date, acknowledgement of where culturally and linguistically diverse talent is located in organizations has been largely neglected in scholarship, policy and practice. As such, we have limited understanding of whether or not we are ‘capitalizing’ on the capabilities of culturally and linguistically diverse workers and, the implications of not doing so. Accordingly, the paper sheds light on the cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD) of the talent pipeline and senior leadership suite in multinational professional services firms located in Australia by surveying over 4000 staff members. The paper presents how we identify, measure and evaluate CALD in a meaningful way by drawing on insights offered by talent management and diversity management researchers, which informs the development of a unique methodological tool to survey respondents. As such, in addition to the empirical contribution, the paper also contributes to a broad field of scholarship while signalling lessons for senior managers and policy-makers.     

Einflussfaktoren der Adoptionsbereitschaft von standortbezogenen Mobilfunkdiensten

The present paper provides an empirical investigation exploring the extent to which various customer-related characteristics explain variance in individual intentions to adopt mobile location-sensitive pull information, navigation and transaction services. The analysis is based on a written survey of 1,097 German-speaking retail customers of mobile network operators [MNO]. Three adoption dimensions of location-based services [LBS] (use probabilities, willingness to pay, readiness to bear efforts in order to be able to use the services) were distinguishable. The values obtained for these dimensions suggest that LBS are unlikely to evolve into an important revenue generator in the German retail mobile communication market unless MNO exert strong efforts to increase mobile consumers' adoption intentions. Correlation and regression analyses indicate that MNO may achieve the most significant increases in the adoption intention dimensions captured by (1) gearing LBS offers to target groups with strong needs for “on the move information” (e.g., timetables), (2) motivating early adopters of LBS to act as peer-to-peer service promoters and (3) implementing measures to reduce consumers' data abuse and privacy concerns.     

CAPITALIZATION AND THE THEORY OF LOCAL PUBLIC FINANCE: AN INTERPRETIVE ESSAY

Abstract. The Tiebout hypothesis that consumer mobility and interjurisdictional competition leads to efficient provision of local services has provoked much controversy and debate in recent years. This article summarizes the opposing and conflicting viewpoints on this subject and presents a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature. The basic conclusion of this literature is that only under very restrictive assumptions will foot-voting and interjurisdictional competition ensure allocative efficiency in the local public sector. Nevertheless, the Tiebout mechanism offers important insights for public policy debates on the assignment of taxes and services and the design of equalization grants. Oates' suggestion that capitalization of fiscal differentials into residential property values provides an empirical test of the Tiebout hypothesis also generated an intense debate on the theoretical validity of this procedure and a heightened interest in its empirical applications. This debate is evaluated and an overview is given of the leading empirical approaches to test the efficiency and equity implications of the Tiebout mechanism. Controversial empirical issues such as the choice of the tax price term, the level of aggregation and econometric estimation problems are highlighted in this part of the survey.     

Improving volunteer retention efforts in public library systems: how communication and inclusion impact female and male volunteers differently

Although volunteer levels are near all‐time highs, volunteer coordinators are increasingly spending more time on retention efforts. The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of organizational communication and inclusive behaviors on volunteers' intention to continue volunteering. Through a survey of 472 volunteers in three library systems, research revealed that two organizational communication theories can improve the effectiveness of volunteer coordinator efforts. Specifically, structural equation modeling revealed that social group inclusion and overall participation in organizational events were the strongest predictors of female volunteers' future intentions to volunteer whereas event participation, being included in the organization's information network, and participating in decision making were the strongest predictors for male volunteers. Relationship indicators successfully predicted which volunteers were most likely to continue volunteering. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF CORRUPTION: WHAT HAS PAST DECADE'S EMPIRICAL RESEARCH TAUGHT US? A SURVEY

Corruption has fierce impacts on economic and societal development and is subject to a vast range of institutional, jurisdictional, societal, and economic conditions. It is this paper's aim to provide a reassessment and a comprehensive state ‐ of ‐ the ‐ art survey of existing literature on corruption and its causes and effects. A particularly strong focus is put on presenting and discussing insights resulting from empirical research and contrasting recent with older findings.     

UNDERSTANDING PREFERENCE IMPRECISION

The term ‘preference imprecision’ seems to have different meanings to different people. In the literature, one can find references to a number of expressions. For example: vagueness, incompleteness, randomness, unsureness, indecisiveness and thick indifference curves. Some of these are theoretical constructs, some are empirical. The purpose of this paper is to survey the various different approaches and to try to link them together: to see if they are all addressed to the same issue, and to come to some conclusions. In the course of this survey, we report on evidence concerning the existence of preference imprecision, and its impact on theoretical and empirical work.     

How Large Is International Trade’s Effect on Economic Growth?

The estimated static welfare gains from international trade are very small, on the order of one percent of GDP. The case for free trade is therefore increasingly linked to trade’s apparent positive effects on economic growth. But how large are these growth effects? The vast empirical literature has emphasized the statistical significance, not the economic significance, of the trade‐growth relationship. This survey’s re‐examination of the empirical literature focuses on the size of the relationship between trade and growth. Our survey reveals that the many empirical studies are surprisingly consistent in terms of the size of the relationship: A one percentage point increase in the growth of exports is associated with a one‐fifth percentage point increase in economic growth. Given the power of compounding, the effect of trade on growth is very important for human welfare.