Macroeconomic Impacts of Canadian Immigration: Results from a Macro Model

We use a macro‐econometric forecasting model to simulate the impact on the Canadian economy of a hypothetical increase in immigration. Our simulations generally yield positive impacts on such factors as real gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP per capita, aggregate demand, investment, productivity, and government expenditures, taxes and especially net government balances, with essentially no impact on unemployment. This is generally buttressed by conclusions reached in the existing literature. Our analysis suggests that concern should be with respect to immigrants themselves, as they are having an increasingly difficult time assimilating into the Canadian labour market, and new immigrants are increasingly falling into poverty.     

Internet Auctions and Frictionless Commerce: Evidence from the Retail Gift Card Market

This study investigates the pricing of retail gift cards on eBay. We find substantially less price dispersion than previously documented in other online markets for consumer goods. As gift cards are homogenous goods with clearly defined value, this suggests that greater price dispersion found in other markets may be due to unobservable differences in product characteristics, or from lacking the competitive nature of auction environments. Additionally, gift cards for the discount retailer Wal-Mart exhibit less price dispersion than other large retailers’ gift cards, consistent with the perception that greater search by price-sensitive shoppers can lead to less friction in markets.     

The Impact of Leveraged and Inverse ETFs on Underlying Real Estate Returns

Leveraged and inverse ETFs (LETFs) were introduced in 2006. By 2008 there was concern that the requirement of LETFs to rebalance near the close might have a significant impact on the prices of the stocks in the underlying indexes. We examine the impact of trading activity induced by six real estate‐related LETFs on the late‐day price dynamics of 63 real estate sector stocks. Through a comparison of sample and control stocks and through a regression model of LETF rebalancing, we find that these LETFs significantly impact the prices of component stocks, increase their volatility and contribute to price momentum.     

An experiment on cash and in-kind transfers with application to food assistance programs

The impact of providing food assistance in kind (via food, stamps, or restricted debit cards) vs. cash has long been a subject of debate. Prior efforts to causally identify the effects of the two types of transfers have been hindered by concerns over non-random selection into assistance programs, misreporting of program benefits, and identification of inframarginal households who, theoretically, should treat cash and in-kind transfers identically. This paper reports the results of an economic experiment designed to cleanly test some conceptual issues associated with in-kind vs. cash giving in a lunchroom meal setting. Given current debates about the healthiness of food assistance recipients’ diets, we also consider the impacts of placing restrictions on in-kind transfers that either prohibit soda purchases with the transfer or require the transfer be spent on fruits and vegetables. Overall, we find that, as theory predicts, in-kind transfers have the same effect on food expenditures as an unrestricted cash transfer for inframarginal consumers, and for extramarginal consumers, food expenditures are higher for in-kind than cash transfers. Participants also respond to the fruit and vegetable restriction as theory would predict. However, in contrast to the theoretical prediction, the soda restriction reduces soda expenditures for more than half the inframarginal consumers.     

Seeking Simplicity in Complexity: The Relative Value of Ease of Use (EOU)‐Based Product Differentiation

Models of category acceptance and diffusion, including Davis's technological acceptance model (TAM), have established that ease of use (EOU) is a significant determinant of technological product adoption. This supports user‐centered design philosophies, where aspects of cognitive attractiveness (e.g., logical to use) and emotional attractiveness (e.g., lack of frustration in use) are essential, and contrasts traditional design practices where physical attractiveness dominates concern. These studies consider the impact of EOU on category (primary) demand. It is unclear whether firms should incorporate EOU into design and positioning strategies to differentiate their products from others in the same category that perform better on functional features. A random utility theory‐based choice model is used to measure the relative value of EOU. In a new product category (DVD recorders; n = 496) and one that is more established (cell phones; n = 202), consumers were found to forgo functional features in preference for products better rated on EOU. With implications for segmentation, those seeking simplicity were older, female, educated, and with less product knowledge, while those already owning a complex phone made replacement decisions with less concern for EOU. The findings support EOU‐based differentiation strategies as a legitimate alternative to other forms of differentiation.     

An investigation of the influence of coping resources in salespersons' emotional exhaustion

Salesperson burnout continues to be a major concern among industrial marketing organizations. In this work, the authors examine whether certain coping strategies moderate the impact of work-related stressors on salesperson burnout; a previously unexamined area in the marketing literature. More specifically, this work examines if problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping significantly moderate the impact of role stress (ambiguity, conflict) on feelings of emotional exhaustion in an industrial sales setting. Findings indicate that problem-focused coping strategies moderate the impact of role stress on salespersons' emotional exhaustion; actually reversing the overall impact from positive to negative. However, findings surrounding the moderating effect of emotion-focused coping are mixed, raising interesting questions for future research efforts.     

基于股东利益要求及其实现方式的非财务指标关注程度研究

从股东角度出发,对股东所关注的反映其利益要求和实现方式信息的非财务指标的关注程度进行了排序研究和分组研究。研究表明：股东对不同类的反映其利益要求和实现方式信息的非财务指标的关注程度存在显著的差异。详尽必要的信息披露更易取得股东对企业的理解和支持。因此,企业除应当进行法定性披露和习惯性披露外,还应当根据本企业股东特点和本企业股东对非财务指标关注的需要以及关注程度的差异对非财务指标信息进行科学、恰当的自愿性详细披露,以满足本企业股东关注相关信息的需要。     

Successful Wage Concertation: The Economic Effects of Wage Pacts and Their Alternatives

Recent debates on pacts have focused on the prerequisites for their emergence, whereas questions of their efficacy have receded into the background. In particular, systematic analyses of the effectiveness of pacts in terms of their capacity to enhance economic performance are missing. The aim of this article is therefore to assess the economic impact of pacts. As the majority of pacts concern wages, the assessment will concentrate on a comparison of the performance of pacts with alternative governance mechanisms for wage policies, that is, alternative pay‐setting modes. The findings show that when wage pacts are endowed with the ability to govern lower‐level pay determination, they are better at enhancing economic performance than other forms of coordination.     

New Product Development Processes and New Product Profitability: Exploring the Mediating Role of Speed to Market and Product Quality

In new product development, faster is not always better. Conceptually, being faster to market should improve financial performance by improving product quality and reducing development expenses. Empirical support is mixed, however, demonstrating that higher speed to market exhibits an inverted U‐shaped relationship with product profitability. Conventional wisdom and empirical research suggest managers make speed to market–product quality–development expense trade‐offs. A particular concern regarding speed to market is that extreme speed may jeopardize product quality. Some researchers suggest that speed to market improves product quality while others suggest firms must balance both speed to market and product quality. Also, shorter lead times may be associated with reduced development expenses, but empirical evidence is conflicting. This research attempts to reconcile conflicting results regarding the speed to market–product quality relationship, their joint impact on product profitability, and their mediation role in the effects of development expenses and cross‐functional integration on product profitability. Partial least squares (PLS) is used to analyze multiplexed archival and survey data collected from NPD managers for 1115 different NPD projects in several firms. The results support the hypothesized equations, explaining 27% of speed to market variance, 35% of product quality variance, and 45% of product profitability variance. This study makes two contributions. First, because speed to market and product quality are related, simultaneous consideration of both factors enhances insight into their joint effect. Second, it provides evidence that speed to market and product quality jointly mediate development expense by NPD phase and cross‐functional integration effects on product profitability. Key results from the large sample data analysis include the following. Speed to market and product quality both enhance product profitability, but the impact of speed to market is larger than that of product quality. Speed to market and product quality partially mediate the impact of fuzzy front end phase expenses on product profitability, while expenses in the latter phases exhibit no impact on the mediators or profitability. Thus, the results suggest that trade‐offs are made not only between time, quality, and expense (i.e., if additional expenses are incurred at all), but also that trade‐offs relate to when (i.e., in which NPD phase) additional development expenses are incurred. Finally, cross‐functional integration (both internal and external) substantially impacts product profitability through a mix of direct and mediated effects.     

Strategic relationships between boundary-spanning functions: Aligning customer relationship management with supplier relationship management

This review focuses on the potential impact of enhanced strategic relationships between the boundary-spanning functions in supplier organizations. Specifically, the concern is with alignment between the organizational groups managing: marketing, sales and strategic account management; purchasing and supply strategy; and, collaborations and external partnerships. The topic is framed by the organizational evolution being driven by market change, and the search for superior innovation capabilities and business agility. These changes bring new challenges in cross-boundary integration and managing complex market networks. The logic is that strategic external relationships (with customers, supplier and partners) should be mirrored in strategic internal relationships (between the functions with lead responsibilities for managing relationships with customers, supplier and partners). Approaches to enhancing this capability include process management, internal partnering strategies and internal marketing activities. The discussion identifies a number of implications for practice and new research directions.     

Targeting agricultural research based on potential impacts on poverty reduction: Strategic program priorities by agro-ecological zone in Nigeria

Growing concern for poverty in the face of declining agricultural research budgets has increasingly required formal priority setting of public agricultural research in developing countries to ensure that scarce research resources are allocated in ways that will have the greatest impact on the poor. This paper assessed the potential impacts of alternative commodity research programs on poverty reduction in three agro-ecological zones of Nigeria and identified strategic agricultural research priorities in the three zones. The paper discusses the poverty reduction-based priorities and their role in facilitating dialogue between research managers and policymakers aimed at sharpening the focus of agricultural research to achieve poverty reduction objectives in Nigeria.     

The impact of technical consultants on the quality of their clients' products: Evidence from the Bordeaux wine industry

Research summary : Recent research rooted in the resource‐based view of the firm suggests that resources are more likely to create value if they are effectively managed. An underlying assumption of the literature is that firms manage their resources on their own. However, many firms hire consultants to help them do so. In this study, I develop and test hypotheses regarding the impact of technical consultants on the quality of their clients' products. Using data from the Bordeaux wine industry, I find evidence that the use of technical consultants has a positive impact on relative product quality and a negative impact on the extremeness of relative product quality. Moreover, the positive impact of technical consultants on relative product quality is stronger at lower levels of relative resource quality. Managerial summary : Findings from a study in the Bordeaux wine industry indicate that the decision to hire consultants should depend on a firm's strategy. If a firm wants to improve its performance, it should hire consultants. Indeed, the “best practices” of technical consultants are generally more valuable than internally generated knowledge. If a firm wants to achieve outstanding performance, hiring consultants may not be the right decision. Because the “best practices” of technical consultants have more certain performance implications than internally generated knowledge, they decrease the likelihood of extremely low performance. However, their lack of uniqueness also decreases the likelihood of extremely high performance. Finally, the decision to hire consultants should depend on the quality of a firm's resources. Firms with low‐quality resources tend to benefit more from the “best practices” of technical consultants. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The disappearing budget constraint on EU agricultural policy

Concern over budgetary costs has been the traditional driving force behind changes to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. While the recent MacSharry reform of this policy was more related to external pressures arising from the need to reach an agreement on agriculture in the GATT Uruguay Round, many expect the budgetary constraint to re-emerge towards the end of this decade, particularly in the light of the impending accession of a number of Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). This paper argues that it is unlikely that there will be any budgetary need to further reform Europe's agricultural policy to accommodate the CEECs. Applying the agricultural guideline to estimate resources and using a simple forecasting model of FEOGA Guarantee budget expenditure, the paper demonstrates that, under a range of plausible assumptions for the key variables affecting resources and expenditure, a significant positive margin should emerge between available resources and the cost of EU agricultural policy by the beginning of the next decade. This margin should be sufficient to pay the estimated costs of extending the present CAP to the CEEC countries without further significant reform. However, even though the budget cinstraint on EU farm policy may disappear, other factors, such as GATT disciplines and concern about agriculture's impact on the environment, will remain as pressures for further CAP reform.     

The Impact of Workers' Compensation Experience Rating on Employer Appeals Activity

Workers' compensation experience rating is presumed to create a financial incentive for employers to make investments that are expected to reduce the incidence and severity of work place injuries. However, the impact of experience rating may be more comprehensive, encouraging firms to take otehr actions that can reduce their workers' compensation costs. One of these actions that has raised concern is employer appeals of worker's compensation board decisions. Based on data from Ontario, we find strong evidence that, although the total volume of employer appeals is not large, experience-rated employers are more likely to appeal than are non-experience-rated employers. To our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to examine the relationship between experience rating and employer appeals; a gap in the literature is noted by Ehrenberg (1988).     

A LOCATION MODEL WITH PREFERENCE FOR VARIETY*

We propose a new location model where consumers are allowed to make multiple purchases (i.e., one unit from each firm). This model may fit many markets (e.g. newspapers, credit cards) better than existing models. A common feature of these markets is that some consumers are loyal to one brand, while others consume more than one product. Our model yields predictions consistent with this observation. If firms are allowed to choose their locations on the interval, then spatial differentiation may not be maximal and in some cases it may even be minimal. Thus, under certain conditions, we restore Hotelling's Principle of Minimum Differentiation.     

Non-discrimination rules for ISPs and vertical integration: Lessons from cable television

The experience of cable television indicates that vertically integrated ISPs have plausible incentives to favor their affiliated content and to restrict entry of nascent rival content services, but these incentives are weakened in some respects, and strengthened in others, by differences in the economic architectures of cable and Internet broadband. Non-discrimination regulations designed to control such behavior are potentially more effective than in cable, but rules governing discrimination both in the upstream access and the downstream retail markets (as the FCC's no-unreasonable-discrimination rule appears to do) are likely to be necessary for effectiveness. Beneficial effects of vertical integration on financing and entry of cable programming networks should also apply to Internet video content development, but emergence since the 1970s of a robust programming supply industry with few vertical ties to cable suggests that such benefits will be less significant in the ISP case. Finally, the history of both the cable and ISP industries makes evident that the fundamental policy concern should not be vertical integration but horizontal market shares of ISPs, both at the local and national levels.     

工作—家庭平衡的企业制度安排

工作已经通过网络渗入家庭,员工面临严重的工作—家庭冲突,影响组织绩效和生活质量。工作—家庭平衡作为企业家庭伦理理论的核心问题已成为制度设计的中心问题。对工作—家庭平衡制度安排的理论与实证研究发现,工作—家庭平衡还没有成为政府、企业和员工的共享信念,制度设计失去社会价值观基础;弹性工作制是有效的正式企业制度;家庭照顾福利是无效的正式企业制度;经理须持之以恒支持员工平衡工作—家庭需要、控制因享用工作—家庭平衡福利而带来的负面职业生涯后果。两者是有效的非正式制度安排。据此提出的政策建议是:政府要在全社会倡导、培育以工作—家庭平衡为核心的企业家庭伦理管理哲学、提供家庭照顾福利作为公共制度供给;企业进行系统的组织文化改造;员工培育照顾家庭的应得权利感。     

Moral judgment in a business setting: The role of managers’ moral foundation,ideology, and level of moral development

Despite the extensive research conducted on moral judgment, the role of moral foundations in moral judgment in business has largely been overlooked. Motivated by the increasing concern about the ethical issues observed in China, this study aims to examine the impact of moral foundations on Chinese managers’ moral judgment while simultaneously looking into the role of moral ideology and the level of managers’ moral development. A sample survey was conducted in Shanghai, China, which involved 451 practicing business managers who were pursuing their MBA degree in a nearby university at the time of data collection. Both structural equation modeling (SEM) and hierarchical regression were used in data analyses. The results reveal that individualizing moral foundations and moral idealism have significant positive impacts on moral judgment. Moreover, the findings indicate that moral relativism and levels of mangers’ moral development moderate the relationship between individualizing moral foundations and moral judgment with the impact of individualizing moral foundations being stronger when managers’ relativism is low rather high or when their moral development is high than it is low. The managerial implications of the research and future research direction are discussed.