Reasserting the ‘social’ in social rented housing: politics,housing policy and housing reforms in New Zealand

After a decade of wide‐ranging social welfare reforms in New Zealand, that have resulted in a considerable restructuring of the role of the state in housing provision, the introduction of new housing legislation in 2000 marked a significant attempt to reassert the notion of social provision. This article examines the manner in which housing policy has recast the role of social rented housing in New Zealand and sets out the political context and implications of the new legislation in which housing policy is being pursued. It is argued that while the notion of social provision has been revived, social rented housing is still constructed in terms of a residual model of provision in the political discourses of reform. En Nouvelle‐Zélande, après une décennie de réformes sociales de toutes sortes, lesquelles ont largement restructuré le rô le de l'É tat dans la fourniture de logements, la récente présentation d'une législation sur l'habitat en 2000 s'est distinguée par une nette tendance à réaffirmer la notion de service social. En examinant comment la politique du logement néo‐zélandaise a remanié le rô le de l'habitat social en location, l'article expose le contexte et les implications politiques des nouvelles lois dans lesquelles s'inscrit la politique publique du logement. Si la notion de service social a été ravivée, le logement social en location reste un pis‐aller parmi les schémas d'aide évoqués dans les discours politiques réformistes.     

The front end of new product development: a Canadian survey

Despite the importance of the early stages of a product's life, very little attention has been paid to empirically testing the activities performed in the front end of new product development. This article presents the results of a survey of 53 individuals from fifteen high technology firms in the integrated circuit board industry. Our study adopts Cooper's (1988) 'predevelopment' model consisting of idea generation, product definition and project evaluation stages, and probes the activities undertaken in each stage. Particular activities were found to play pivotal roles in achieving the objectives of each stage. The results present a clarified view of front end activities that can be used as a starting point for adequately preparing products for development and market success.     

Evaluating service firms: Approaches with policy recommendations

Evaluation of service firms is a problem because the service sector of the world economy is growing so fast. Consumers often do not have reliable information about services prior to making a buying decision. This paper presents a model of service evaluation. Several applications, including Consumers' Checkbook, Which? and a test conducted in the U.S., of a mail survey methodology are examined as possible solutions to this problem. Lessons learned from these experiences are provided. Finally, implications are drawn regarding tactical, public policy, and academic research issues.     

Do XBRL filings enhance informational efficiency? Early evidence from post-earnings announcement drift

In 2009, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) mandated public firms to file their financial statements using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). The SEC's main motive behind this mandate is that XBRL filings would enhance the informational efficiency in the stock markets by making financial data easier to use and analyze for a broad range of investors. Using a sample from the first wave of mandated XBRL filers, we find a decline in post earnings announcement drift for the good news portfolio in the post-XBRL adoption period. Instead of a drift associated with underreaction, we find that markets overreact to negative earnings surprises for the bad news portfolio during our observation period, which coincides with the financial crisis. We detect limited evidence that XBRL adoption mitigates overreaction, which is another form of market inefficiency. We also find limited evidence that XBRL particularly benefits small investors.     

MSI deliberations and context: The influence of Southeast Asian business systems on member justifications and approaches to anti-corruption

Multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) convene stakeholders from different contexts to deliberate on corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues. Extant research focuses on the deliberative potential of internal governance structures yet neglects the influence of broader sociopolitical contexts on the members that participate in them. Anti-corruption is one CSR issue that MSIs increasingly address which is particularly context dependent. Therefore, this study examines how different sociopolitical contexts influence members’ justifications and approaches to anti-corruption during MSI deliberations and ultimately, how this impacts the MSI’s approach to anti-corruption. Through a single case study of an MSI, the ASEAN CSR Network which is situated in Southeast Asia with members representing business and CSR organizations in six different countries, the findings show that the different National Business Systems clearly influence the member justifications and approaches to anti-corruption. Further, the MSI reinforces and promotes the adoption of the different national business system-related justifications and approaches ultimately, leading to an MSI approach to anti-corruption which is a composite of the different national business system-related approaches. This paper makes three contributions to the literature on MSI deliberations. First, it proposes a novel framework that links the influence of national business systems to member justifications and approaches to anti-corruption during MSI deliberations by leveraging the orders of worth framework. Second, it shows that the concept of compromise may be more relevant to understanding and evaluating MSI deliberations than the notion of consensus. Third, it contributes through the empirical study of an MSI developed in Southeast Asia addressing anti-corruption.     

Corporate Expenditure on Environmental Protection

We examine the determinants of firm’s current environmental expenditure and firm’s capital investment in equipment for pollution control in Irish manufacturing industries using a Heckman selection model. The main determinants for the two types of expenditure are similar: larger, exporting and energy-intensive firms are more likely to spend. Being subject to environmental regulation also has an effect. Once the decision to commit resources has been taken, larger, older, foreign-owned, exporting and energy-intensive firms incur higher environmental expenditure. For the amount of capital investment only firm size and age play a role. This suggests that the economic and regulatory incentives in place are such that it is the largest and most polluting firms that do most to reduce pollution.     

Problems with precaution: the transfusion medicine experience

The precautionary principle is a dominant paradigm governing risk-based decision-making. Today, there are increasing pressures to re-examine aggressive precautionary approaches, and to assess how the principle should be applied in the modern system. In this paper, we examined three key applications of precautionary approaches in the field of transfusion medicine to provide insight into the risks and benefits of these approaches. The three case studies examined were the donor deferral policies to safeguard against transfusion transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, variant Creutzfeldt–Jacob disease, and, lastly, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus. Characterization of precautionary applications was conducted using an embedded case study design. Our findings indicate that transfusion transmission mitigation strategies have become increasingly aggressive in the face of theoretical risks. In contrast, the review processes for implementation and reversal of precautionary policies have been slow, and historical donor deferral policies are still in place today. Application of precautionary approaches has proved challenging with both benefits and pitfalls. In light of emerging threats to the blood system, policy-makers should consider the implementation of frameworks to guide the appropriate application of precaution in transfusion medicine in the future.     

The Roles of Procedural and Distributive Justice in Logistics Outsourcing Relationships

In this paper, the effects of two dimensions of justice—procedural and distributive—on key attitudinal and behavioral elements of logistics outsourcing relationships are investigated. The findings suggest that the fairness of policies adopted by a third‐party logistics provider (3PL) and respective outcomes nurtures a customer's trust in and long‐term orientation toward the relationship with a 3PL. In such a relationship climate, patterns of cooperative behavior take place, providing an incentive for a 3PL to proactively pursue operational improvements.