FAMILY FIRM PERFORMANCE OVER THE BUSINESS CYCLE: A META-ANALYSIS

The financial performance of family firms has been widely studied in the literature. Combining the results of 155 primary studies from 35 countries with data about business cycles, we investigate how family firm performance changes over the business cycle. Using meta-analytic estimation methods, we find that family firms outperform nonfamily firms in developed markets, irrespective of economic circumstances. This outperformance, although statistically significant, is very small and practically negligible. With regard to the business cycle, we find evidence for a procyclical effect in which the relative performance of family firms is lower in economically difficult times. Our study extends the literature on how family firm performance depends on macroeconomic factors.     

Credit Consumption and Financial Risk Among Danish Households— A Register-Based Study of the Distribution of Bank and Credit Card Debt

Journal of Consumer Policy - This article discusses the distribution of widely used consumer loans in Denmark in the light of the “risk position” in which this places Danish households....     

Efficient Redistribution of Lifetime Income through Welfare Accounts*

Compared with a conventional tax–transfer system, individual welfare accounts can redistribute lifetime incomes at a lower efficiency cost. These welfare accounts employ mandatory contributions rather than taxes to finance social transfers to people of working age. We describe a design for welfare accounts that guarantees a Pareto improvement if behavioural responses to the accounts improve the public budget. We also develop a formula for quantifying the impact of welfare accounts on the government budget and economic efficiency. Applying the formula to Danish data, we find that the proposed welfare accounts would generate a Pareto improvement, thus improving the trade‐off between equity and efficiency. We discuss how the gains from welfare accounts can be distributed in an equitable manner.     

Finite sample inference for quantile regression models

Under minimal assumptions, finite sample confidence bands for quantile regression models can be constructed. These confidence bands are based on the “conditional pivotal property” of estimating equations that quantile regression methods solve and provide valid finite sample inference for linear and nonlinear quantile models with endogenous or exogenous covariates. The confidence regions can be computed using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. We illustrate the finite sample procedure through two empirical examples: estimating a heterogeneous demand elasticity and estimating heterogeneous returns to schooling. We find pronounced differences between asymptotic and finite sample confidence regions in cases where the usual asymptotics are suspect.     

Responses of air cargo carriers to industrial changes

This study examines how product characteristics, values, inventory cost, shipping charges, shipping distance, and time affect an international firm's choice of air carrier. An individual choice model is constructed by assuming that the shipper in a specific industry chooses the optimal air cargo carrier with the minimal logistics cost. The study further aggregates air cargo demands on different routes for the carriers by considering the spatial distribution of the origin-destination pattern and any temporal changes in the industrial structure. A case study is used to illustrate the application of the proposed model using data from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and the industrial economics database in Taiwan. The results show that shippers with high product value and short delivery distance focus on the shipping charge and prefer choosing the air cargo carrier that offers more flights. Further a carrier may achieve a larger market share if its supply attributes match the industrial structure and the product characteristics of the market on the route. Finally, because dynamic changes in the industrial structure and product value have been captured, the results are more accurate than that from the Grey model.     

Quality of Leadership and Workplace Bullying: The Mediating Role of Social Community at Work in a Two-Year Follow-Up Study

The theoretical and empirical link between leadership and workplace bullying needs further elaboration. The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between quality of leadership and the occurrence of workplace bullying 2 years later. Furthermore, we aim to examine a possible mechanism from leadership to bullying using social community at work as mediator. Using survey data that were collected at two different points in time (2006–2008) among 1664 workers from 60 Danish workplaces, we examined the total, direct and indirect effects between quality of leadership and workplace bullying. Our results indicate that quality of leadership plays a role in establishing working conditions that lead to workplace bullying. Furthermore, social community at work fully mediates the effect of poor quality of leadership on workplace bullying. This longitudinal study adds to previous cross-sectional studies on the substantial role played by leaders in the bullying process. Within the leadership–bullying relationship, social community at work acts as a full mediator, adding a significant contribution to the discussion of mechanisms involved in the bullying process. Plausible explanations of this mechanism and practical implications are discussed.     

Political Party Impacts on Direct Democracy: the 2015 Greek Austerity Referendum

On July 5, 2015, Greek voters were asked whether to approve or reject the terms of an austerity program offered by the European Union (EU) to resolve an ongoing financial crisis. With a turnout rate of 62.5% overall, 61.3% of Greeks voted “no.” While a majority of voters in every district opposed the bailout’s terms, the margin against the proposed austerity measures ranged from 51.2% in Lakonias to 73.8% in Chanion. This paper presents empirical evidence on the determinants of the “no” vote across Greece’s 56 electoral districts. Our analysis is grounded in public choice theories of why large numbers of people turn out to vote in mass elections. In addition to controlling for standard “instrumental” vote motives, we ask whether political party labels, which serve as summary measures of partisan positioning, and party platforms, which express partisan preferences on ballot questions, are salient in determining electoral outcomes. Holding constant the unemployment rate and average voter age (at the regional level) and the fraction of young people casting ballots for the first time on July 5, 2015 (at the district level), we find that the percentage of ‘no’ votes was reduced significantly by voter support for Greece’s leading pro-austerity party (New Democracy) in the previous nationwide election held in January 2015. In contrast, voter support in January for the anti-austerity party (Syriza), led by sitting Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, had no measurable impact on July’s referendum results. This finding offers support for both instrumental and expressive theories of voting and bolsters the claim that political parties can shape electoral outcomes on questions decided by an institution of direct democracy.     

Different knowledge,different benefits: toward a productivity perspective on knowledge sharing in organizations

We develop a differentiated productivity model of knowledge sharing in organizations proposing that different types of knowledge have different benefits for task units. In a study of 182 sales teams in a management consulting company, we find that sharing codified knowledge in the form of electronic documents saved time during the task, but did not improve work quality or signal competence to clients. In contrast, sharing personal advice improved work quality and signaled competence, but did not save time. Beyond the content of the knowledge, process costs in the form of document rework and lack of advisor effort negatively affected task outcomes. These findings dispute the claim that different types of knowledge are substitutes for each other, and provide a micro‐foundation for understanding why and how a firm's knowledge capabilities translate into performance of knowledge work. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Consumer Power: A Comparison of the Old Economy and the Internet Economy

From the very beginning of the Internet, a decisive shift from supplier power to consumer power was predicted by several authors and is still maintained in recent literature. Although the Internet has grown rapidly within the last years and electronic markets have evolved, a theoretical framework for consumer power on the Internet still cannot be identified. Few authors have taken efforts to apply common concepts of power theory to the characteristics of the Internet. Based on the concept of French and Raven, this paper analyses consumer power in traditional markets and then compares it to the situation on the Internet. This comparison shows that the Internet enables consumers (a) to overcome most information asymmetries that characterize traditional consumer markets and thus obtain high levels of market transparency, (b) to easily band together against companies and impose sanctions via exit and voice, and (c) to take on a more active role in the value chain and influence products and prices according to individual preferences. A broad literature review reveals that empirical findings confirm these hypotheses to a great extent. The authors conclude by summarizing the results and drawing implications from two different angles, namely from a marketing and a consumer policy perspective.     

Health-related attitudes as a basis for segmenting European fish consumers

This paper identifies and profiles consumer segments based on health-related attitudes. Cross-sectional data were collected in 2008 through a pan-European consumer survey (n = 2400) with samples representative for age and region in France, Poland and Spain. Four distinct consumer segments based on health-related attitudes are identified: low interest in healthy eating consumers (29.4%), positive health enthusiasts (28.2%), health strivers (35.0%) and health uninvolved (7.4%). The segments differ significantly with respect to fish consumption, attitudes and knowledge about the health benefits of fish, interest in potential informational cues when purchasing fish, and individual socio-demographic characteristics. The segment low interest in healthy eating is characterised by younger age, more males, higher BMI, low fish consumption and low interest in information, and herewith emerges as a relevant though difficult to reach segment from a food and health policy perspective. Positive health enthusiasts and health strivers have a strong involvement with food, and a strong interest in healthy eating. Both segments have a very favourable disposition towards fish consumption, which would fit with their focus to either stay healthy (positive health enthusiasts) or improve their current health status (health strivers). Health uninvolved consumers do not care strongly about health in general; though attach high importance to eating healthily.