Factors that influence the consumption of food outside the home in Brazil

The food sector has taken on an unprecedented dynamism in recent years. The processing and distribution of food, although heavily influenced by tradition, have seen intensive innovations, leading to changes in the way individuals consume. One of these changes is the consistent growth of the habit of eating outside the home. Consuming food outside the home involves a number of practices such as eating at commercial establishments that specialize in food (restaurants, fast food restaurants and snack bars) and those that offer food as a part of their services (hotels, in‐flight meals), and non‐commercial alternatives such as the homes of family and friends. In order to describe the eating habits of consumers in the town of Lavras in Minas Gerais State, Brazil, especially when it comes to eating outside the home, a quantitative study was conducted, with 413 questionnaires being distributed by convenience sampling. Among the main results are: (a) a search for variety as a motivator for eating outside the home; (b) convenience as an important element on many occasions of consumption; (c) more intensive consumption and more favourable attitudes towards eating out on the part of younger people, people with higher incomes, no children and a higher degree of schooling; (d) importance of paying for food by the kilo. When compared with a study conducted in England, important similarities were identified in socio‐demographic influences, although the cultural factors are notable when it comes to dishes and the types of eating establishment. The growing habit of eating out has therefore become a worldwide phenomenon, but with cultural and regional differences that have led to different rhythms in terms of change and the way food is supplied. The recovery of embedded cultural habits, with increased value being given to slow food, traditional dishes and tradition itself, appears to co‐exist with a productivity model of food courts, pasteurization and accessible prices. The occasion for consumption, which may be understood as the dichotomies of ‘weekday versus weekend’ or ‘convenience versus leisure’, is an important element that influences consumer behaviours. The undertaking of a cross‐cultural comparative study can be seen as an important step in this field of research.     

Cost of capital and public loan guarantees to small firms

In this paper, we study the determinants of the spread charged by banks under a UK policy intervention scheme, aimed at supporting access to the credit market for small firms through guarantee backed loans. We exploit a unique dataset containing data on 29,266 guarantee backed loans under the UK SFLG scheme over the period 2000 to 2005. Results suggest that lower spreads are offered for loans of larger amounts and higher durations, for service firms, for larger firms, and for those located in the most advanced regions. Higher spreads are applied to high-tech manufacturing firms and to loans issued for working capital purposes. We also find that the presence of other extant debt is associated with a relatively higher spread and that this effect is especially significant for the subset of firms that have reached a maximum debt capacity based on collateralized assets. Further, we also find that the higher the incidence of the publicly guaranteed debt over the total amount of outstanding loans, the lower, on average, the spread. However, an increase in the guaranteed coverage leads to a contraction in the spread only for loans aimed at covering working capital needs rather than investments.     

Are entrepreneurial venture's innovation rates sensitive to investor complementary assets? Comparing biotech ventures backed by corporate and independent VCs

Entrepreneurial ventures are a key source of innovation. Nowadays, ventures are backed by a wide array of investors whose complementary asset profiles differ significantly. We therefore assert that entrepreneurial ventures can no longer be studied as a homogeneous group. Rather, we harness the inherent dichotomy in the profiles of independent VCs and corporate investors to study ventures' innovation outcomes. Our sample consists of 545 U.S. biotechnology ventures founded between 1990 and 2003 and backed by independent venture capitalists (VCs) or corporate VCs (CVC). We find CVCs' investees exhibit higher rates of innovation output, compared to independent VC‐backed peers. Moreover, the performance of CVC‐backed ventures is sensitive to their ability to leverage corporate assets, underscoring the role of CVC accessibility and FDA approval requirements as the mechanisms associated with CVC contribution. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From volatility smiles to the volatility of volatility

Decisions in Economics and Finance - The paper reviews models of the option surface and reduced-form models for stochastic volatility in continuous time, under the risk-neutral measure. It defines...     

Drivers of productivity in Vietnamese SMEs: the role of management standards and innovation

Using a rich panel dataset of small and medium scale manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) active in the manufacturing sector in Viet Nam, this paper investigates the drivers of firm productivity, focusing on the role played by international management standards certification. We test the hypothesis that, accounting for technological innovation (product and process) and other variables related to technological capabilities, international standards are conducive to higher productivity, through improved management practices and business organization. In line with the requirement of continuous improvement implied by most international standards, the main findings show that the possession of an internationally recognized standard certificate leads to significant productivity premium. We further find that the effect of certification on productivity is particularly strong for firms with technological innovation, located in southern provinces, and operating in more scale-intensive industries.     

FIRM HETEROGENEITY,RULES OF ORIGIN,AND RULES OF CUMULATION*

This article sheds light on the restrictive nature of rules of origin (ROO) and on the role of diagonal cumulation in mitigating the protectionist content of ROO. Empirical evidence suggests that diagonal cumulation has beneficial effects on trade—particularly among spoke countries. We show that these patterns can be reconciled with a theoretical setting where heterogeneous firms buy intermediate inputs from domestic and foreign sources. The model finds that switching from bilateral to diagonal cumulation relaxes the restrictiveness of the ROO and leads the least productive exporters to stop exporting.     

Marketing metrics: Insights from Brazilian managers

This study examines how managers approach marketing measures in a Brazilian context. Using data from a large-scale empirical study in Brazil, we focus on managers' views of the practices in marketing measurement and identify which indicators they emphasize. The findings, which reflect Brazilian managerial practice, indicate that managers use a combination of metrics. Items such as total number of customers, number of complaints, and customer satisfaction are among the most known and most used metrics. When addressing the 10 most relevant metrics results yield 4 groups, including customer vision, financial, product vision, and market and innovation. Indicators pertaining to customer vision are the most important to Brazilian managers. Furthermore, we discuss the results and draw comparisons with similar studies conducted in the United Kingdom and China. Finally, we present conclusions and avenues for future research.     

Institutions and Firms' Productivity: Evidence from Electricity Distribution in the EU

Firms' productivity is influenced by internal and external institutions. Ownership is the core internal institutional feature of the firm, while the most important external institutional feature is the quality of government, which shapes the environment in which firms operate. We explore the relative role of these factors and their interaction in determining total factor productivity of electricity distribution firms in 16 EU countries. Using data from the Amadeus database of balance‐sheet information and from the Quality of Governance database, we find that when the quality of government is poor, public ownership is associated with lower productivity levels; however, public ownership is associated with higher productivity in countries characterized by higher quality of the institutional environment.     

Growth of born globals: the role of the entrepreneur’s personal factors and venture capital

This paper examines to what extent the human capital of entrepreneurs and the receipt of venture capital (VC) financing affect the growth of born globals (BGs). The study analyzes a sample of 242 BGs resulting from a survey on high-tech start-ups operating in the ICT and electronics sectors, located in different countries throughout the world. A multivariate explorative analysis controlling for the endogenous nature of VC is conducted. The results indicate that the experience of the entrepreneur in having previously established another entrepreneurial firm positively affects the growth of BGs. A negative effect is associated with the presence of heterogeneity in the management team in terms of education background. With regard to the linkage between financial capital and growth, it is found that both VC financing and the number of founders (a proxy for the availability internal capital) positively influence the growth of BGs.