Identifying common dynamic features in stock returns

This paper proposes volatility and spectral based methods for the cluster analysis of stock returns. Using the information about both the estimated parameters in the threshold GARCH (or TGARCH) equation and the periodogram of the squared returns, we compute a distance matrix for the stock returns. Clusters are formed by looking to the hierarchical structure tree (or dendrogram) and the computed principal coordinates. We employ these techniques to investigate the similarities and dissimilarities between the ‘blue-chip’ stocks used to compute the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index.     

Artificial intelligence-based systems applied in industrial marketing: An historical overview,current and future insights

Intelligent systems have particular potentialities and strengths to support decisional situations faced by companies, especially those of a strategic nature, where good strategic intelligence is necessary. In this paper, we carry out an historical literature review of artificial intelligence-based systems applied to marketing, covering a time period of several decades (from the 1970s to the present day), with special focus on applications to industrial marketing. A detailed review is presented, along with conclusions and some future insights. Then, we briefly introduce the set of papers in this special issue.     

Tourism donations in sacred settings: an exploratory study of visitor donations in an English cathedral

• This paper explores visitor behaviour in relation to making donations for Chichester Cathedral upkeep. It found that 94% of respondents were aware of the donation appeals and that 71% of them went on to make a donation, with the visitors aged 50 to 69 years and living within 25 mi of the Cathedral being the most frequent and generous donors. When asked to suggest what they would consider an appropriate donation, 44% of respondents gave a figure between £1 and £2. This paper argues that the present donation management measures at Chichester Cathedral are insufficient to bring the desired income and makes recommendations on the measures that Cathedral managers can implement to increase visitor donations. Among these recommendations, the most significant are the profiling of visitors, the identification and targeting of donors' personal meanings to give a donation and, in the case of Chichester Cathedral, to specifically target these meanings on their local, middle‐aged visitors.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ecological uncertainty,adaptation, and mitigation in the U.S. ski resort industry: Managing resource dependence and institutional pressures

We draw on resource dependence and institutional theories to study how firms manage uncertainty in nature (ecological uncertainty) in the U.S. ski resort industry. Through resource dependence theory, we develop the concept of ecological uncertainty and explain its effects on firms' access to and management of natural resources. We then predict that firms adapt to ecological uncertainty with natural‐resource‐intensive practices, as well as practices that attempt to mitigate its underlying causes. Using institutional theory, we also predict that environmental expectations moderate these responses. Our results indicate that firms did manage ecological uncertainty by adopting natural‐resource‐intensive practices, but not mitigation practices. They also show that stronger environmental expectations constrained firms from adopting natural‐resource‐intensive practices and promoted their adoption of mitigation practices in response to ecological uncertainty. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monopoly regulation under asymmetric information: prices versus quantities

We compare two instruments to regulate a monopoly that has private information about its demand or costs: fixing either the price or quantity. For each instrument, we consider sophisticated (screening) and simple (bunching) mechanisms. We characterize the optimal mechanisms and compare their welfare performance. With unknown demand and increasing marginal costs, the sophisticated price mechanism dominates that of quantity, whereas the sophisticated quantity mechanism may prevail when marginal costs decrease. The simple price mechanism dominates that of quantity when marginal costs decrease, but the opposite may arise if marginal costs increase. With unknown costs, both instruments are equivalent.     

Assessing Corporate Vulnerabilities in Indonesia: A Bottom-Up Default Analysis

Under adverse macroeconomic conditions, the potential realization of corporate sector vulnerabilities could pose major risks to the economy. This paper assesses corporate vulnerabilities in Indonesia by using a Bottom-Up Default Analysis (BuDA) approach, which allows projecting corporate probabilities of default (PDs) under different macroeconomic scenarios. In particular, a protracted recession and the ensuing currency depreciation could erode buffers on corporate balance sheets, pushing up the probabilities of default (PDs) in the corporate sector to the high levels observed during the Global Financial Crisis. While this is a low-probability scenario, the results suggest the need to closely monitor vulnerabilities and strengthen contingency plans.     

International Competitiveness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Peru,a Latin-American Emerging Market

Our research studies the international competitiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging Latin-American country. Using a sample of 100 SMEs in Peru, we find that firms compete abroad with standardized products, which are conditioned by the host-country markets, human capital, and industry cooperation. However, the results show that the age and size of the firm are not determining factors in competing overseas. Our findings open a new agenda for policymakers when interpreting how they should promote and support Latin-American SMEs.     

Do emotions matter? Coherent preferences under anchoring and emotional effects

Emotions can affect individuals' preferences and economic behavior. In this paper we consider the relationship between emotions and anchoring effects in non-market valuation. The findings show that although anchoring effects are relevant, elicited preferences are coherent, in the sense that they are sensitive to changes in the dimension of the good. Additionally, it is found that the relationship between emotional intensity and the level of anchoring is U-shaped, with anchoring declining as emotional intensity rises until a minimum is reached. Thus, preferences can be substantially less affected by anchoring effects if emotional intensity deviates from extreme values. Finally, it is found that the degree of sensitivity to scope is influenced by the level of emotional load involve in the valuation task.     

External environment and the moderating role of export market orientation

This research has two main objectives. The first is to fill the knowledge gap on the role which the external environment plays in the strategic behavior of exporting companies, taking into account the psychological distances between the domestic and foreign markets. The second aim is to clarify the role that market orientation plays in export activity, since the literature review shows conflicting results. The study provides insight into these issues through hypothesis testing of a conceptual model using a sample of 212 Spanish exporting companies. The results lead to two major conclusions: (a) in turbulent environments, exporting firms adapting the marketing mix program to the needs of foreign markets obtain a better export performance in highly competitive and psychologically distant markets; (b) although market orientation has a direct and positive effect on export performance, its main role is to support strategic decision making in exporting companies. In addition, market orientation moderates the relationship between marketing mix adaptation and export performance.