External balance,dynamic efficiency,and the welfare effects of unilateral and multilateral permit policies in interdependent economies

This paper investigates domestic and foreign welfare effects of unilateral and multilateral permit policies in a two-country overlapping generations model with producer carbon emissions. We show that the welfare effects of a more stringent cap on emissions depend on the external balance of the policy implementing country, the dynamic (in)efficiency of the world economy, and the preference for environmental quality. Under dynamic efficiency, the global welfare loss of policy implementation in a net foreign creditor country is lower than of a policy in the net foreign debtor country. Moreover, although the country which has unilaterally implemented a permit policy would gain from a multilateral policy, the associated welfare loss for the other country is larger than that of a unilateral policy abroad.     

Relating the philosophy and practice of ecological economics: The role of concepts, models, and case studies in inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability research

We develop a general and unifying methodology for ecological economics which integrates philosophical considerations on the foundations of ecological economics with an adequate operationalization. We argue that the subject matter and aims of ecological economics require a specific combination of inter- and transdisciplinary research, and discuss the epistemological position on which this methodology is based. In accordance with this understanding of inter- and transdisciplinarity and the underlying epistemological position, we develop an operationalization which comprises simultaneous analysis on three levels of abstraction: concepts, (generic) models and case studies. This provides a systematic and integral view on ecological economics, and thus allows one to see the relationship between contributions to the field that have so far been perceived as very heterogeneous and largely unrelated. At the same time, this methodological framework may provide orientation for the further development of ecological economics.     

Environmentally Sustainable Transport: Definition and Long-Term Economic Impacts for Austria

The transition to an environmentally sustainable transport system involves a combination of technological and demand-side transport policies. Regulatory, educational and economic instruments can be used to enhance the development of cleaner transport technologies as well as the shift from road-based towards more environmentally benign modes of transport. This article provides estimates of overall economic impacts in the long term and describes the required change in the transport system. The article proceeds in three steps. First, this article reviews concepts of sustainability and applies them to transportation. Second, a small open economy computable general equilibrium model for Austria is developed to evaluate the long-term macroeconomic and sectoral impacts of a sustainable freight transport policy. Third, simulation results are discussed and conclusions drawn concerning the crucial features of a sustainable freight transport policy.Although the required transition within the transport system is substantial, the economic costs in terms of GDP are comparably low and employment is likely to increase slightly.     

Pflegeverträge prüfen!

Vertr?ge richtig gestalten – Zahlreiche Vertragsklauseln in Pflegevertr?gen wurden nach Klagen des Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverbands gerichtlich für unwirksam erkl?rt. Pflegeanbieter, die sich davor schützen wollen, sollten ihre Pflegevertr?ge auf den Prüfstand stellen. Auf welche Punkte kommt es dabei besonders an?     

Creating consumer satisfaction in maternity care: the neglected needs of migrants,asylum seekers and refugees

An estimated 190 million people are now living outside their countries of birth or citizenship, and the rate of this migration is expected to remain high. The resulting growing cultural and ethnic diversity in societies adds specific challenges to the requirement of delivering public services such as health care to consumers. Globally, about half of the migrant population are women. Migrants’ outcomes of pregnancy are known to be poor, showing significant disparities when compared with those of native populations. Although these disparities have been noted, knowledge is limited regarding the availability and accessibility of healthcare services, as well as the acceptability of maternity care for women with experiences of free and forced migration. Healthcare research in general, and maternity care research specifically, have often neglected this population. This paper examines the existing international guidelines intended to address inequities in health outcomes, policies which have been introduced at national levels, and the widely used concepts of ‘patient‐centred’ and ‘woman‐centred’ health services. The ideals implicit in those guidelines and concepts are contrasted with the available evidence of many overseas nationals’ experiences with healthcare provisions in general, and maternity care in particular. This is followed by reflections on deficiencies in current studies and on those methodological problems which make research on maternity care for migrant women particularly challenging. The conclusion considers the appropriateness and relevance of guidelines currently promoting equity in maternity care and suggests a future agenda for priority research.     

The Divergent “Loyalty” Behaviors of a Captive Consumer

This research investigates situations where consumers display divergent loyalty behaviors. Study I qualitatively identifies and classifies word-of-mouth spreading behaviors of captive loyalists. The results reveal that, despite repurchase behaviors, captive loyalists spread mostly negative word-of-mouth. Study II quantitatively investigates four separate loyalty behaviors of captive loyalists. The results confirm that these consumers are likely to stay when dissatisfied, and allocate a significant share of their wallet to the provider whilst spreading negative word-of-mouth. The simultaneous existence of opposing loyalty behaviors has significant implications for erecting switching barriers and for applying customer loyalty metrics.     

Applying the door-in-the-face compliance technique to retailing

The door-in-the-face (DITF) approach, a sequential compliance technique in which a large request is followed by a more moderate request, has been shown to increase compliance in a variety of non-business situations. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the DITF technique could also be used to increase sales in a retailing context. A field experiment outside an alpine hut was conducted. A total of 375 consumers participated in the experiment. As they passed by the entrance to the mountain hut, they were approached by an experimenter who invited them to buy some home-made cheese. In the experimental groups the DITF technique was used by the salesperson. The results show that the DITF technique can lead to a significant increase in the number of consumers making a purchase. Furthermore, it was found that this compliance technique is even more effective when it is used by a highly credible seller and when the seller points out that the more moderate request constitutes a concession. The large effect of the DITF intervention (the number of consumers making a purchase increased 15 to 40 percentage points over the control group) suggests that this technique could be used successfully in retailing.     

When less family is more: Trademark acquisition,family ownership,and internationalization

This study examines the relationship between international performance and the orientation of the firm towards trademark acquisition, and discusses family ownership as a moderator of this association. We conceptualize our study along three interrelated lines of ‘openness’ i.e. openness towards external resources, openness of governance, and openness towards international markets. The empirical investigation relies on a panel data analysis over four years, and on a cross-industry sample of European listed companies consisting of 712 observations. Our outcomes reveal that the attitude of the company to enrich the brand portfolio with externally developed trademarks is positively associated with the firms’ international performance. We also find that this relationship is moderated by family ownership. “Less family is more”: we find a positive relationship of openness towards trademark acquisitions with the firms’ international performance, which decreases with the presence of a family in a dominant position.     

Strategies as Discursive Constructions: The Case of Airline Alliances

ABSTRACT In this paper, we argue that by examining the discursive elements in strategy talk we can contribute to our understanding of the myriad of micro‐processes and practices that make up strategies. We focus on airline alliances as a particularly illustrative case. Based on a critical discourse analysis of an extensive material of strategy talk on airline alliances, we point to five types of discursive practices that characterize strategizing in this context in 1995–2000: (1) problematization of traditional strategies; (2) rationalization, objectification and factualization of alliance benefits; (3) fixation of ambiguous independence concerns; (4) reframing of cooperation problems as ‘implementation’ issues; and (5) naturalization of alliance strategies. While we want to emphasize the context‐specificity of these practices, we claim that similar types of discursive practices are also likely to be an inherent part of strategizing in other settings.