Relevance of the Attention Effect in the Brazilian Stock Market

This article aims to analyze the impact of investor attention in the Brazilian stock market, particularly the effect of positive pressure on asset prices verified by Barber and Odean (2008 Barber, B. M., &; Odean, T. (2008). All that glitters: The effect of attention and news on the buying behavior of individual and institutional investors. Review of Financial Studies, 21(2), 785–818. doi:10.1093/rfs/hhm079[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Using the methodology of Da and colleagues (2011 Da, Z., Engelberg, J., &; Gao, P. (2011). In search of attention. The Journal of Finance, 66(5), 1461–99. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6261.2011.01679.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), we seek to assess whether investor attention, as measured by the volume of searches on Google, can explain abnormal variations in market activity and asset returns. The results indicated that the Internet search data does explain variations in turnover rate and trading volume of assets. However, unlike the results of studies conducted in other countries, the price pressure hypothesis was not observed in the Brazilian market.     

Drawing on “Producer-Tours”: A Technique for Addressing Consumer Uncertainty Surrounding the Consumption of Fair Trade Food Products?

Despite the global increase in both fair trade sales and awareness, actual market shares of some fair trade products remain disappointing. A number of authors have suggested various reasons for this, including the complexity of the situational context affecting actual purchase behavior (Carrington, Neville, &; Whitwell, 2010 Carrington, J. M., Neville, A. B. and Whitwell, G. J. 2010. Why ethical consumers don't walk their talk: Towards a framework for understanding the gap between the ethical purchase intentions and actual buying behaviour of ethically minded consumers. Journal of Business Ethics, 97: 139–158. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), the disconnect between producers and consumers (Dickinson, 2001 Dickinson, M. A. 2001. Utility of no sweat labels for apparel consumers: Profiling label-users and predicting their purchases. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 35(1): 96–119. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and the problems associated with the depersonalization of ethics in mainstream distribution (Bezencon &; Blili, 2011). This article introduces the drawing method into the field of research on fair trade consumption. Using this method, this study explores student perceptions of both fair trade consumers and how fair trade works. In doing so, the drawing method unveiled two potential consumer types; namely, the dreamer and the angel. On this, we argue that our study reveals some of the possibilities inherent in the use of the drawing method to explore uncertainty surrounding fair trade consumption.     

Consumer Technology Readiness and E-Service Quality in E-Tailing: What is the Impact on Predicting Online Purchasing?

Total online retail spending in China reached $427 billion in 2014 and is expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2018 (Chu and Wong 2015 Chu, K., and G. Wong. 2015. China tries to clean up e-commerce. The Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-tries-to-clean-up-e-commerce-1427894413 [Google Scholar]). In addition, the number of online stores in China has been rapidly increasing. The present study proposes a model based on the theoretical frameworks of technology readiness (Parasuraman et al. 2005 Parasuraman, A., V. A. Zeithaml, and A. Malhotra. 2005. A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research 7 (3):213–33.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and e-service quality (Parasuraman and Malhotra 2005 Parasuraman, A., V. A. Zeithaml, and A. Malhotra. 2005. A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research 7 (3):213–33.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and tested the model on consumers from China. The results indicate that consumer technology readiness positively influences the perceived efficiency, system availability, fulfillment, and privacy dimensions of e-service quality as it relates to the online retailing environment in China. Moreover, the influence of technology readiness on the intention to purchase online in the future is both direct and mediated by the dimensions of perceived e-service quality. Implications and future research suggestions are also discussed.     

Effects of Pre-Salt Regulation on the Market Value of Petrobras

This article measures the impacts of the process of pre-salt development related to new regulations in Brazil applicable to the offshore pre-salt hydrocarbon reserves. For this purpose, Bai and Perron (2003 Bai, J., and Perron, P. (2003). Computation and analysis of multiple structural change models. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 18, 1–22. doi:10.1002/jae.659[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Chow (1960 Chow, G. C. (1960). Tests of equality between sets of coefficients in two linear regressions. Econometrica, 28(3), 591–605. doi:10.2307/1910133[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) tests were used to identify structural breakpoints in the behavior of the price of Petrobras stock through a model that includes the ratio of the stock prices of Vale and Petrobras, and the proven oil reserves of Petrobras from 2000 to 2014. The results indicated structural breakpoints in the period of regulation change and when Petrobras issued new shares to raise funds for pre-salt development.     

Herd Behavior in Latin American Stock Markets

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the presence of herd behavior in Latin American stock markets using the methodologies proposed by Christie and Huang (1995 Christie , W. G. , &; Huang , R. D. ( 1995 ). Following the pied piper: Do individual returns herd around the market? Financial Analysts Journal , 51 ( 4 ), 31 – 37 .[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and Chang, Cheng, and Khorana (2000 Chang , E. C. , Cheng , J. W. , &; Khorana , A. ( 2000 ). An examination of herd behavior in equity markets: An international perspective . Journal of Banking and Finance , 24 ( 10 ), 1651 – 1679 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Daily closing prices and trading volumes from January 3, 2000 to September 15, 2010 from the stock markets of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and the United States were analyzed. The US market was studied in order to provide a reference for comparison. The shares for which data was collected in each country were those listed in the most representative stock index for each market. It was not possible to establish evidence of herd behavior in any of the five countries studied using the Christie and Huang (1995 Christie , W. G. , &; Huang , R. D. ( 1995 ). Following the pied piper: Do individual returns herd around the market? Financial Analysts Journal , 51 ( 4 ), 31 – 37 .[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) method. However, evaluating the data for the entire period using the method proposed by Chang, Cheng, and Khorana (2000 Chang , E. C. , Cheng , J. W. , &; Khorana , A. ( 2000 ). An examination of herd behavior in equity markets: An international perspective . Journal of Banking and Finance , 24 ( 10 ), 1651 – 1679 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) we detected herd behavior in the Chilean market. These results were not affected by the addition of additional exogenous variables representing the September 11 attacks of 2001 and the subprime crisis, or when the effect of the behavior of US shares on other countries was analyzed. Asymmetric herd behavior was detected in the Chilean, United States, Argentinean, and Mexican markets.     

Development of an Enhanced Model of Innovation Adoption by Individual Employees

This research investigates the antecedents and provides a new theoretical framework that addresses the adoption decision by individual employees in the organizations. The study integrates the theory of reasoned action, technology acceptance model, and the conceptual model provided by Frambach and Schillewaert (2002) Frambach, R. and Schillewaert, N. 2002. Organizational innovation adoption: A multi-level framework of antecedents and opportunities for future research. Journal of Business Research, 55(2): 163–176. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. Data were collected from a randomly selected sample of employees using a structured questionnaire. The research uses multivariate statistical analysis to test the proposed enhanced model, which is largely supported and validated, accounting for 60% of the variances in usage. This result has strategic implications for organizations in the effective management of innovation involving employees in their workplaces.     

Malaysian Money Demand Function Revisited: The ARDL Approach

ABSTRACT

This article examines the long-run and short-run behavior of the demand for money (M1, M2, and M3) in Malaysia. In this study we used a robust estimation known as the unrestricted error correction model (UECM) and the Bounds test (Pesaran, Shin, &; Smith, 2001 Pesaran, H., Shin, Y. and Smith, R. J. 2001. Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 16: 289–326. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to determine if the demand for money is cointegrated with real income, interest rate, and the price level. Prior to the cointegration analysis, we tested whether the demand for money series had undergone any structural breaks due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis using the Gregory–Hansen structural break approach. The study used annual data from 1970 to 2004. The Gregory–Hansen test suggests that the 1997 Asian financial crisis did not have a significant impact on the cointegration relationship between money demand and its determinants. The Bounds test revealed that the demand for M1, M2, and M3 are cointegrated with its determinants at the 1% level of significance. Thus, the long-run demand for money was found to be stable. This implies that monetary targeting may be a useful for the conduct of the monetary policy.     

Identification,Reputation, and Performance: Communication Mediation

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on a possible mediation by communication in the identification-organizational performance and identification-corporate reputation relationships. The review of the literature indicates that (a) companies with good reputations have better performances, (b) the stronger employee identification is, the better the reputation and performance, and (c) communication plays an important role in emphasizing the mode in which the organization presents itself to its stockholders. This study reveals that communication is a partial mediator in the relationships studied, suggesting that managers early on establish the form of communication, emphasize to a greater degree managerial communication, and not concentrate all their attention on marketing communication. The study involved 1,025 employees in various organizations and applied modeling of structural equations and the method proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986 Baron , R. M. , and Kenny , D. A. ( 1986 ). “The Moderato-Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , Vol. 51 , No. 6 , pp. 1173 – 82 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to evaluate the mediation between the variables.     

Consumers' Online Information Search: Gen Yers' Finding Needles in the Internet Haystack

There exists a paucity of research attention afforded to understanding consumer information search behavior on the Internet, vis-a-vis existing information search models such as an interactive, consumer experience in the offline realm. Thus, the present study investigates whether the factors inculcated within traditional cognitive processing models remain significant in the online information setting. Grounded in the contributions of Punj and Staelin (1983 Punj , G. N. , & Staelin , R. ( 1983 ). A model of consumer information search behavior for new automobiles . Journal of Consumer Research , 9 ( March ), 366 – 380 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Srinivasan and Ratchford (1991 Srinivasan , N. , & Ratchford , B. T. ( 1991 ). An empirical test of a model of external search for automobiles . Journal of Consumer Research , 18 ( September ), 233 – 242 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) in the context of offline information search, this study proffers an empirical model of consumer online information. The empirical findings reveal that Perceived Risk and Perceived Cost do not significantly contribute to the consumer online information Search Effort. Rather, both of these conventional antecedents and Enjoyment significantly impact the satisfaction of young consumers' online information search endeavors. We recommend further studies to examine consumer information search behavior in other contexts (e.g., mobile phones) across countries.     

Consumer's Perception of Website Service Quality: An Empirical Study

With the increasing penetration of the Internet, service quality has become one of the key areas of concern for online shopping sites. Website service quality has become a vital factor in making e-commerce successful because comparing the features of products in the online environment is easier, practically free of cost, and saves on time in comparison to conventional offline markets. To empirically explore the critical factors that determine perceptions of the service quality of online shopping sites, researchers adopted the eTailQ scale suggested by Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003 Wolfinbarger, M., and M. C. Gilly. 2003. eTailQ: dimensionalizing, measuring and predicting etail quality. Journal of retailing 79 (3):183–98. doi:10.1016/s0022-4359(03)00034-4.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Web layout, web info, customer service, fulfillment, and privacy emerged as the critical factors affecting website service quality. Findings of the study are expected to provide valuable insights to academicians in better conceptualizing the constructs and also help marketing practitioners in fine-tuning their strategies by addressing the peculiar needs of the Indian online shoppers.     

Exploring Convenience Food Consumption Through a Structural Equation Model

In this study the model of convenience orientation suggested by Scholderer and Grunert (2005 Scholderer, J. and Grunert, K. G. 2005. Consumers, food and convenience: The long way from resource constraints to actual consumption patterns. Journal of Economic Psychology, 26: 105–128. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) is applied in order to examine consumer behavior in the context of convenience food usage. The empirical results indicate that sociodemographic characteristics affect behavior both directly and indirectly through perceived time resources and convenience orientation toward meal preparation and clearing up. Findings seem to be important for all the bodies involved in the marketing of convenience food products because they describe the way various consumer characteristics interact, affecting the consumption of such products.     

The Influence of Innovative Organizational Culture on Marketing Strategy Formulation and Results

ABSTRACT

This article's objective is to analyze the influence innovative organizational culture has on marketing strategy formulation and results, and how this relationship affects organizational performance. The theoretical basis lies in Menon et al.'s (1999 Menon , A. , Bharadwaj , S. G. , Adidam , P. T. , and Edison , S. W. ( 1999 ). Antecedents and consequences of marketing strategy making: A model and a test . Journal of Marketing , 63 , 18 – 40 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) model. The methodology included a survey with medium to large Brazilian companies in different sectors. The final sample consisted of 153 questionnaires that were valid for analysis. Techniques for statistical analysis including singular and multivariate methods were used, from which the relationships between constructs were established by structural equation modeling. Results show a positive relationship between innovative organizational culture, the marketing strategy process, and organizational performance. However, innovative culture does not have a direct influence on performance.     

Cause‐Related Marketing from the Nonprofit's Perspective: Classifying Goals and Experienced Outcomes

This research examines the cause‐related marketing (CRM) experience from a nonprofit (NPO) perspective, using qualitative and quantitative methods. U.S. NPO managers with direct CRM experience (n = 154) participated. Results demonstrate that NPOs have both first order (immediate financial support) and second order (less tangible, longer term) goals when undertaking CRM, and that they generally realize these outcomes, though not always. NPOs primarily seek event support, networking opportunities and public awareness, followed by funding opportunities, with less emphasis on gaining business expertise. This research extends the framework of Gourville and Rangan (2004 Gourville, J. T. and Rangan, V. K. 2004. Valuing the cause marketing relationship.. California Management Review, 47: 38–57. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) by offering a more precise, differentiated model.     

Differentiation and Cost Asymmetry: Solving the Merger Paradox

This paper investigates the impact of product differentiation and of cost asymmetry on the merger paradox using a Cournot framework. It finds that when all firms share the same costs, two-firm mergers in an n firm market generate at least no profit loss when goods are sufficiently differentiated. This result contrasts with that of Salant, Switzer, and Reynolds (1983) where mergers of strategic substitutes are rarely profitable, and Deneckere and Davidson (1985 Deneckere, Raymond, and Carl Davidson. 1985. Incentives to Form Coalitions with Bertrand Competition. The RAND Journal of Economics 16 (4): 473–486.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) where competition among strategic complements yields profitable mergers. Critically, when costs are asymmetric, a merger between an efficient and inefficient firm, with differentiated products, can be more profitable to participants than to excluded rivals. Following this merger, welfare is shown to increase given that the cost asymmetry between insiders is large enough.     

Banking Consolidation in Nigeria, 2000–2010

The Nigerian banking consolidation process is examined using a dynamic panel for the period 2000–2010. The Arellano and Bond (1991 Arellano , M. , & Bond , S. ( 1991 ). Some tests of specification for panel data: Monte Carlo evidence and an application to employment equations . The Review of Economic Studies , 58 , 277 – 297 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) dynamic general method of moment approach is adopted to estimate a cost function taking into account the possible endogeneity of the covariates. The main finding is that the Nigerian banking sector has benefited from the consolidation process, and specifically that foreign ownership, mergers and acquisitions, and bank size decrease costs. Directions for future research are also discussed.     

On market forces and adjustments: acknowledging consumer creativity through the aesthetics of ‘debadging’

Abstract

This paper explores the social dynamics by means of which market forces are enacted at the level of everyday consumption. In particular, it draws on Holt's (2002 Holt, D.B. 2002. Why do brands cause trouble? A dialectical theory of consumer culture and branding. Journal of Consumer Research, 29: 70–90. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) notion that as ‘unruly bricoleurs’, consumers kick-start processes of market adjustment and innovation through improvising ways to negotiate the demands of daily life. In this way, consumers can become active players in realising new possibilities for identity construction and empowerment that involve the creative re-appropriation of marketer-based meaning. To investigate those issues, we turn to a virtual community in the empirical setting of car customisation. Over an eight-month period, an internet-based methodology generated textual observations of online posting activity on five internet newsgroups attracting those interested in the particular pursuit of car modification. Participants used those web-forums to share information, passions, and enthusiasms. Analysis shows that grounded aesthetics function as vehicles for creativity and the reworking of dominant market logics (Vargo & Lusch, 2004 Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, R.F. 2004. Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68: 1–18. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We conclude that online discussion threads offer valuable access to the emergent interplay of discursive resources in circulation among virtual communities and that this has implications for the conduct of environmental scanning. The paper illustrates how the discursive resource-base is nurtured, sustained, and transformed through various interpellations, including performing claims to prestige and self-defining distinctions, as well as constructing narratives of personal history and social dynamics.     

Meeting the Needs of Global Companies Through Improved International Business Curriculum

The global workplace requires specific knowledge, skills, and abilities on the part of workers. There is a growing body of research indicating a gap between the global industry demand for skills and the higher education system's ability to supply that demand. Leveraging the work from Yu, Guan, Yang, and Chiao (2005 Yu, C. J., Guan, J., Yang, K. and Chiao, Y. 2005. Developing the skills for international business management: The implications of the Management Education Opportunity Grid. Journal of Teaching in International Business, 16(4): 5–26. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and Prestwich and Ho-Kim (2007 Prestwich, R. and Ho-Kim, T. 2007. Knowledge, skills and abilities of international business majors: What we teach them versus what companies need to know. Journal of Teaching in International Business, 19(1): 29–55. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), this study investigated this gap. The sample included global leaders of Fortune 500 companies. Exploratory in nature, the primary purpose of this study was to understand the needs of global business organizations that form the hiring market for international business graduates. The findings highlight the gap between the topics being taught by educators and the skills actually needed by the target international businesses. This information is relevant to the challenges facing global businesses as well as higher education institutions and provides insights into improvements for the good of both industries and especially the students aiming for careers in global organizations.     

Convergence Rates to Output Growth in a Global World: The Roles of Openness and Government Size

In this article, we examine the effects of three openness measures on 54 industrial and emerging economies' output growth over the “globalization years” of 1986–2004. Controlling for standard determinants of the Solow growth model in panel data, we find positive effects of openness on real output growth. While we find support for higher convergence rates under the open economy, the convergence rates in this article for both samples are remarkably close to the 2% level documented in Mankiw et al. (1992) Mankiw, G., Romer, D. and Weil, D. 1992. A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(2): 407–437. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. The inclusion of G/Y, however, reduces the speed of convergence more substantially in industrial economies.     

Life on the Red Carpet: Star Players and Referee Bias in the National Basketball Association

Fans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) have long considered the idea that NBA referees are biased in various ways, such as when certain “star players” benefit from so-called “phantom fouls” committed against them or are sheltered from calls against fouls they commit. Using two data sets, the first based on Wallace, Caudill, and Mixon (2013 Wallace, Scott, Caudill, Steven B., and Mixon, Franklin G., Jr. 2013. Homo Certus in Professional Basketball: Empirical Evidence from the 2011 NBA Playoffs. Applied Economics Letters 20 (7): 642–648.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and a second based on all player games during the 2011 NBA Playoffs series, including dozens of NBA All Stars, the present study empirically investigates this potential form of referee bias by examining both early- and late-game free throw shooting in these most critical games of any season for NBA players, coaches, owners, and fans. The empirical results suggest that marquee NBA players are the beneficiaries of referee bias that occurs near the end of NBA Playoffs contests. More specifically, through regression models with various fixed effects, we find that NBA All Stars are awarded with an additional 0.32 free attempts per minute during the fourth quarter of NBA Playoff games.     

Innovativeness along the Business Cycle: The Case of Uruguay

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the dynamics of knowledge-capital accumulation along the different stages of the business cycle within the benchmark proposed by Crépon, Duguet, and Mairesse (1998 Crépon, B., Duguet, E. &; Mairesse, J. (1998). Research, innovation, and productivity: An econometric analysis at the firm level [Working Paper n° W6696]. Cambridge, MA: NBER. Retrieved from www.nber.org/papers/w6696[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) using a balanced panel of Uruguayan firms. Findings reveal that the intensity of innovation evolves procyclically, while the propensity of innovation and the degree of novelty embedded in innovations follow a countercyclical path. They also show that product innovations during economic recessions are only pursued by companies that are able to divert their sales to world markets; otherwise, they tend to innovate in processes. Results further suggest that productivity gains driven by knowledge-capital accumulation are magnified by systematically engaging in innovation activities.