Who Bears the Cost of Agricultural Support in OECD Countries?

This paper provides quantitative estimates of the impact of removing agricultural support in both OECD and developing countries in partial and general equilibrium frameworks. The results show that agricultural support in OECD countries is highly distortionary, and tariffs have a larger distortionary impact than subsidies. Removal of agricultural support would likely raise the international prices of food, resulting in an increase in the cost of food for many net‐food importing countries, although the size of the increase is generally small. The results also show that most of the benefits from removing agricultural support accrue to the countries that liberalise.     

Impacts of supplier–buyer relationships on modularization in new product development

Globalization of markets and new business practices are prompting high-tech firms to reconsider their strategic thinking, especially in supply chain and R&D management. This paper examines the effects of supplier–buyer relationships on modularization by evaluating the opportunities of modularization and corresponding interface constraints of a product at four different levels: component, module, sub-system, and system. The scope of modularization sensitivity is assessed in terms of the product's architecture, interface compatibility effects, component customization, value inputs, and supplier–buyer interdependence. The example of windshield wipers controller for Chrysler Jeeps illustrates that, higher opportunities for modularization can be attained through a more collaborative form of supplier–buyer partnership.     

The burden of road traffic injuries in Kermanshah Province,Iran, in 2010–2011: GBD 2010 method

Deaths, injuries and disabilities resulting from road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a public health major concern. This study aims to calculate the burden of RTIs in Kermanshah Province in Iran. In this study to determine the years of life lost (YLL) related to RTIs, the National Death Registration and Forensics Medicine census data were employed. We use forensic medicine data to calculate the incidence of non-fatal injuries and years lost due to disability (YLD). The cause of death and non-fatal injuries was classified using ICD-10 codes and 23 groupes of global burden of diseases (GBD) 2010. The disability-adjusted life year (DALY) estimated on the guidelines of the GBD 2010 and age and sex structure was taken from the National Statistic Center for the year 2010. Overall, 70.8% of the subjects were males. The fatal and non-fatal injury rates of RTI were 51.3 and 283.6 per 100,000 persons, respectively. YLLs and YLDs were 46613 (24.5 per 1000) and 3405 (1.8 per 1000) in both sexes, respectively. The disability adjusted life years were 40711 in males, 9306 in females and 50018 in both sexes (42.5, 9.8 and 26.3 per 1000, respectively). More than 93% of DALY was from YLL (24.5 per 1000), with a small proportion for YLD (1.8 per 1000). Accounting for more than 50,000 DALY attributed to RTIs, traffic injuries is a major public health and socioeconomic problem in Kermanshah. Designing cost-effective interventions based on comprehensive and multi-sectoral programmes at the national and provincial levels can save many lives and resources that are lost every year. Undoubtedly, establishing a surveillance system at the sub-national level and measuring the burden of injuries, as in this study, can help policy-makers and planners in lessening the burden of RTIs.     

Why so Few Women on Boards of Directors? Empirical Evidence from Danish Companies in 1998–2010

This paper analyzes the determinants of women’s representation on boards of directors based on a panel of all privately owned or listed Danish firms with at least 50 employees observed during the period 1998–2010. We focus on the directors who are not elected by the employees and test three hypotheses on female board representation that we denote the female-led hypothesis, the tokenism hypothesis, and the pipeline hypothesis, respectively. We find evidence rejecting the female-led hypothesis. Firms with a female chairperson on the board of directors tend to have significantly fewer other non-employee-elected female board members. We also find clear evidence of a tokenism behavior in Danish companies. The likelihood of enlarging the share of non-employee-elected female board members is significantly smaller if one, two, or more women have sat on the board of directors. Finally, the pipeline hypothesis is partly confirmed. The relation between the female pipeline of potentially qualified directors and female directors is weaker than the similar relation for males. Our findings offer insights to policy makers interested in promoting gender diversity within boardrooms. Our empirical evidence suggests that an important way to increase the female proportion of non-employee-elected board members is that more women reach top executive positions.     

Using mixed methods designs in the Journal of Business Research, 1990–2010

The purpose of this article is to examine the uses of mixed method research designs published in the Journal of Business Research. This study involves a content analysis of 2072 articles published between 1990 and 2010 in the Journal of Business Research. Seventeen mixed method studies implemented data collection procedures sequentially (68%), six implemented them concurrently (24%), and two combined both sequential and concurrent procedures (8%). On the whole, priority skews more toward quantitative strands with ten articles prioritizing quantitative data (40%), three articles prioritizing qualitative data (12%), and twelve articles prioritizing both equally (48%). Business scholars recognize the benefit of mixing qualitative and quantitative research; however, as a discipline, we are not demonstrating knowledge of the mixed method literature or procedures; none of the articles recognized or mentioned knowledge of mixed method procedures or cited mixed method research. This study provides guidance for researchers in identifying design types appropriate for various research objectives as well as the models of different design types appearing in the Journal of Business Research.     

The evolution of private equity: corporate restructuring in the UK,c.1945–2010

The article analyses the role of private equity (PE) in restructuring the UK corporate economy. It develops a theoretical synthesis to show that the evolution of the PE industry and firms in which it invested were governed by the relations of corporate governance between investor and investee companies. Effective governance relations were a necessary condition for success and complement firm specific resources to create competitive advantage. Four case studies are used to show the contrasting effects of these determining factors, Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation (ICFC) and Slater Walker, and the two waves of buy-out centred restructuring that developed with the maturity of the PE industry after 1980. In contrast to the evolutionary approach, the periodisations utilised in this study show that structural breaks associated with points of institutional reform are also necessary to make firm specific resource and governance determinants of competitive advantage operable.     

British corporate networks, 1976–2010: Extending the study of finance–industry relationships

Abstract

Using an extensive and unique data set that has been created to record the composition of the boards of directors of the top 250 British firms between 1904 and 2010, this article builds upon a previous study by the authors on the corporate network to 1976 by extending the study to 2010. The analysis revolves around three key observations: the nature and depth of the corporate network; the distinct stages in corporate connectivity between 1976 and 2010; and the 1980s watershed in the relationship between financial and other sectors, following which financial institutions withdrew from the corporate network. The article concludes with an analysis of how the data set has changed our perceptions of British corporate networks, wider changes in British business, and a discussion of implications for future research.     

From overt provider to invisible presence: discursive shifts in advertising portrayals of the father in Good Housekeeping, 1950–2010

Abstract

This article considers the link between fatherhood and masculinity and identifies some of the key discursive shifts around fatherhood based on an analysis of advertising material that appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine between 1950 and 2010. It provides a socio-historical perspective on fatherhood that reveals a discursive shift from the father as patriarchal family provider/protector to a more ambiguous and less obvious presence in the magazine advertisements. Our findings suggest that family-related advertising in women’s magazines does little to challenge the traditional models of paternal masculinity. Changes in the portrayal of fathers, when examined closely, seem to reinforce traditional gender hegemony. Yet, over time, a ‘multiplicity of possibilities’ of dominant paternal masculinities is emerging, broadening the original ‘breadwinner’ model and perhaps offering some transformative potential around how we view fathers.     

A retrospective on the state of international advertising research in advertising,communication, and marketing journals: 1963–2014

Scanning from the earliest to the recent literature on international advertising research, this study aimed to provide a more comprehensive and detailed picture of the research trends and patterns across the advertising, marketing, and communication disciplines over the past half century. Findings exhibit continuous growth in terms of the quantity of international advertising studies. While theoretical foundations need to be further solidified and elaborated, methodological and statistical rigors have been increasingly underpinned in international advertising research. Further, this study recognized authorial and institutional productivity, and influential articles in the field of international advertising research. The finding indicates that scholarly endeavors are necessary for diversity of countries studied in future research.     

Determinants of growth in non-farm proprietor densities in the US, 1990–2000

The number of non-farm proprietorships in the US has expanded significantly in past decades, but this expansion has not occurred evenly over space. Regression analysis correcting for spatial autocorrelation reveals that proprietors respond rationally to economic incentives. Parameter estimates for variables measuring collateral, age, ethnic mix, government policy, female labor force participation, and natural amenities, each have the expected signs. A few options are available to policymakers for influencing growth in self-employment densities over time.

Location strategies of multiunit service businesses: spatial differentiation and agglomeration among hamburger restaurants in Paris, 1984–2004

In this article, we study how multiunit service businesses locate their units, choosing between two opposite spatial strategies. Whereas, locating one’s units close to competitors’ brings positive agglomeration externalities, locating one’s units far away from others’ allows local monopolies through spatial differentiation. We examine location strategies of the two biggest hamburger restaurant chains—namely McDonald’s and Quick—in Paris between 1984 and 2004. Results show that competitive standings impact locational strategy choices. The market leader favors spatial differentiation, thus preempting premium locations. Conversely, the challenger favors locations close to the leader, thus aiming at agglomeration externalities.

Restructuring of the Danish pork industry: The role of mergers and takeovers, 1960–2010

This article examines the origins and effects of the evolution of the Danish pork industry characterised by three main merger waves resulting in 43 realised mergers and takeovers. The findings illuminate – in contrast to the traditional strategically motivated rationale – that the majority of the mergers were realised by cooperatives due to the inability to give the pig farmers competitive yearly refunds vis-à-vis local competitors, to financial difficulties or to the lack of investment capability of one of the merging parties. Despite a high-risky strategy, mergers and takeovers became the preferred consolidation mean due to capital constrains and the ‘close’ ownership structure of the cooperatives. Moreover, the study demonstrates that the outcomes of the M&A activities were generally positive.     

The Impact of Foreign Technology and Embodied R&D on Productivity in Internationally Oriented and High-Technology Industries in Egypt, 2006–2009

This paper investigates the domestic productivity and spillover effects of foreign technology and embodied R&D on Egyptian manufacturing industries, 2006 to 2009. It also analyses the heterogeneous sectoral effects of technology transfer by focusing specifically on the productivity effects on highly internationalized and technology-intensive industries. These are expected to have greater absorptive capacity with respect to foreign technology and therefore larger productivity effects because of their greater exposure to foreign competition and greater technological capacity respectively. This study is the first to analyse the efficiency effects of foreign technology by classifying industries in this manner. It finds that foreign technology and embodied R&D have positive and significant industry-specific effects on domestic productivity and TFP in technology-intensive industries but that these are weaker in internationally oriented industries. The study suggests that only technological-intensive industries in Egypt have sufficient absorptive capacity to assimilate foreign technology effectively. The paper’s findings highlight the key role of foreign technology in domestic productivity growth, subject to the absorptive capacity of the domestic labour force, and the need for improved policies to promote the domestic benefits of technology transfer through the accumulation of local technological competences.

     

Underreporting,crash severity and fault assignment of minor crashes in China – a study based on self-reported surveys

Unreported minor crashes have importance as a surrogate for more serious crashes that require infrastructure, education, and enforcement strategies; and they still inflict damages. To study factors that influence underreporting, cause, and severity of minor crashes; a survey was performed in Kunming and Beijing to collect self-reported personal characteristics and crash history data of the three major urban road users in China: automobile drivers, bicycle riders and electric bike (e-bike) riders. Underreporting rates of automobile to automobile, automobile to non-motorized vehicle, and non-motorized vehicle to non-motorized vehicle crashes are 56%, 77% and 94%, respectively. Minor crashes with higher reported injury severity levels are more likely to be reported. E-bike riders without a driver's license are more likely to cause crashes. Licensing and education could be an effective way to reduce their crashes. The party that is not at fault in a crash is more likely to sustain high level of injury.     

Convergence of actual,warranted, and natural growth rates in a Kaleckian–Harrodian-classical model

This paper describes a dynamic one-sector macroeconomic model that draws on both post-Keynesian and classical/neo-Marxian themes. The model features an equilibrium in which Harrod’s actual, warranted, and natural growth rates coincide. Dynamic processes unfolding over both short and long time scales lead the economy to exhibit both business cycles and long waves. The Keynesian stability condition is assumed not to hold, so the model features short-run instability, which is bounded from above by a utilization ceiling. Labor constraints affect distribution through conflict pricing. In contrast to other Kaleckian–Harrodian models, we do not assume an exogenous source of demand. Instead, short-run instability is bounded from below by firms’ expectations that the downturn will eventually reverse.     

The Effects of Attitudes,Subjective Norms,Attributions, and Individualism–Collectivism on Managers’ Responses to Bribery in Organizations: Evidence from a Developing Nation

The goal of this study was to introduce a model explaining how managers’ attitudes, subjective norms, attributions, and the individualism–collectivism cultural dimension affect the way managers’ deal with employee bribery in organizations. Twenty-six internal and external attributions related to bribery were identified through a series of structured interviews with 65 subject matter experts. These attributions, together with the other variables in the model, were evaluated by 354 (n = 354) Ecuadorian managers. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that attitudes and external attributions significantly predicted managers’ intentions to discipline employees who accepted a bribe. In addition, external attributions mediated the relationship between individualism–collectivism and intent to discipline corrupt employees. Implications for the management of bribery in Latin American organizations are discussed.