Affective commitment and customer loyalty in crowdsourcing: antecedents,interdependencies, and practical implications

Crowdsourcing, the outsourcing of previously internal processes within the corporate value chain to an external crowd of people, has become increasingly popular in retail. In applying this practice, retailers aim not only at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of their value creation process, but also at increasing the affective commitment and loyalty of their customers. Surprisingly, the effects of crowdsourcing on affective commitment and customer loyalty, and the factors influencing these objectives have hardly been researched. This paper closes this research gap. Through expert interviews and experimental studies, it comes to the conclusion that especially satisfaction with the crowdsourcing process and sense of virtual community are relevant factors impacting affective commitment and customer loyalty. The paper concludes with recommendations for optimizing these factors in retail practice.     

Hunting while working: An expanded model of employed job search

Major theoretical models of job search fail to consider the changing nature of careers, the influence of the internet as a job search tool, and the diverse objectives for employed job search. Consequently, the study of employed job search has been largely confined to turnover research. We add to existing theory by providing a typology of employed search objectives based on modifying employment conditions (separation-seeking, change-seeking, leverage-seeking), contagion (mimetic-seeking) and employability (knowledge-seeking, network-seeking) and offer propositions related to the antecedents and implications for each objective. This classification offers an alternative explanation for previous research findings, provides a framework for future study, and has practical implications for employee retention and recruitment.     

Terrorism and expatriate withdrawal cognitions: the differential role of perceived work and non-work constraints

Abstract

Building on stress theory, this study investigates the mechanism by which terrorism influences withdrawal cognitions of expatriates, namely, via perceived threat as well as perceived constraints in the work and non-work domains. Data from 160 expatriates currently working in African and Asian countries show that the level of terrorism relates to expatriates’ perceived threat. Further, we find that the effect of this perceived threat is stronger on perceived constraints in the non-work than in the work domain. While perceived constraints in the work domain have a direct effect on job turnover intentions, perceived constraints in the non-work domain have a direct effect on country leave intentions and an indirect, spillover effect on job turnover intentions. Our study underscores the importance of both work and non-work domains for understanding stress and turnover related to expatriation in terrorism-endangered countries.     

Voluntary Adopters of Integrated Reporting – Evidence on Forecast Accuracy and Firm Value

This study investigates how integrated reporting (IR) creates value for investors. It examines how providers of financial capital benefit from an improved firm information environment provided by IR. Specifically, this study investigates the effect of voluntary IR disclosure on analyst earnings forecast accuracy as well as on firm value. To do so, we use an international sample of 167 listed companies that voluntarily publish an integrated report. Our analysis shows no significant effect of a voluntary IR publication on analyst earnings forecast accuracy and no significant effect on firm value. We thus do not find evidence for the fulfillment of IR's promises regarding improved information environment and value creation of voluntary adopters. We conclude that such companies might already have a relatively high level of transparency leading to an absent additional effect of IR disclosure. Positive effects of IR appear to be more relevant in environments where IR is mandatory.     

Fusionen und Übernahmen im Licht der Hybris – Überblick über den Forschungsstand

Although corporate acquisitions are ubiquitous a large number of M&A fails. One explanation for such failure is the hubris hypothesis for corporate takeovers. A decision maker affected with hubris (or overconfidence) will overestimate his abilities in raising potential synergies and is likely to make investment decisions destroying shareholder wealth. The growing literature on CEO hubris proposes various ways to measure hubris. We present these indicators and discuss possible advantages and drawbacks. (71 words)     

The impact of expatriate personality traits on cross-cultural adjustment: A study with expatriates in Japan

While regarded as among the most important factors affecting expatriate cross-cultural adjustment, little focused research with a broad array of personality traits has been conducted. This study draws from the cultural fit hypothesis and the socio-analytic theory to examine the impact of expatriate personality traits through the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire on the general-, interaction-, and work-related facets of cross-cultural adjustment among 181 expatriates in Japan. The results show positive relationships between the personality traits of Open Mindedness and interaction adjustment, Emotional Stability and Cultural Empathy and general adjustment, and Social Initiative and work adjustment.     

The term structure of systematic and idiosyncratic risk

We study the term structure of variance (total risk), systematic, and idiosyncratic risk. Consistent with the expectations hypothesis, we find that, for the entire market, the slope of the term structure of variance is mainly informative about the path of future variance. Thus, there is little indication of a time-varying term premium. Turning the focus to individual stocks, we cannot reject the expectations hypothesis for systematic variance, but we strongly reject it for idiosyncratic variance. Our results are robust to jumps and potential statistical biases.     

Household Formation,Female Labor Supply,and Savings

In this paper, we aim to quantify the impact of changing family structures on labor supply and savings in Western societies. Our dynamic general equilibrium model features both genders, and it takes into account changes in marital status as a stochastic process. The numerical results indicate that changes in household formation can partly explain the reallocation of male and female labor supply observed during the last decades in Germany. We also find a negative impact on capital accumulation, and we show that a combination of higher marital risk and a narrowing gender wage gap can explain the changes in hours ratios between single and married men and women.     

Grenzen der Auskunfts- und Belegpflicht in der D&O Versicherung

A large number of claims brought under German D&O insurance regard Insured vs. Insured cases, i.e. claims brought by the company against its own directors and officers (Executive Directors, Supervisory Board Members etc.). After notification of and examination by the insurer of such an insured event, the insurer will in most cases opt to grant the insured defence cover in order to fight off the claim. The insurer hereby expresses that it regards the claim of the company (= its own policyholder) against the board member (= the insured) to be without merit. This situation—where the policyholder is at the same time the damaged party—though typical under (German) D&O-policies is uncommon for liability insurance cover in general. It, thus, raises the issue as to the limits of the policyholder’s duty to disclose information. The scope of said obligation is not unlimited. It rather has to be ascertained pursuant to Sect. 31 VVG (German Insurance Contract Act), by taking into account the policyholder’s interests in commercial and industrial confidentiality and the burden of poof as provided by Sect. 93 para. 2 AktG (German Stock Companies Act). In case legal proceedings ensue between the company and the insured, and, as a consequence, the insurer exercises its obligation to conduct the case for the insured or the insurer joins the lawsuit on the side of the insured (by declaring a Third Party Notice [Streiverkündung]), the insurer clearly becomes an adversary to the company. Under such circumstances, the company is irrevocably released from its duty to disclose information.