SHIFTING ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PARADIGMS IN TWO FINNISH PAPER FACILITIES: A BROADER VIEW OF INSTITUTIONAL THEORY

Environmental management paradigm shifts are examined in two organizations, a packaging company and a printing paper firm, both of which belong to a Finnish paper corporation. The article looks at how new rules for the social construction of the business–natural environment relationship evolve in a business enterprise when its institutional context changes. The environmental issues with respect to the environmental management paradigm shift studied concern recycling and forest management. Both companies were able to respond to changes in their institutional context, but the change processes differed substantially. Important elements of shifting environmental management paradigms included the external impetus for change, the role of change agents, the influence of the identities of different professional groups on change, and phases in unlearning and relearning. In the packaging firm the results indicate a shift from a traditional management paradigm to an environment-related management. In the paper company, a shift from large-scale Scandinavian forestry to small-scale forest management is ongoing.     

基于利润最大化的旅游品供应商定价策略研究

以供应商、零售商利润最大化为目标,首先分析了旅游产品优化定价过程,然后建立了优化定价模型,列出供应商和零售商的利润函数,接着对旅游产品供应商优化定价模型进行了模拟试验,明确了对利润产生显著影响的三个因素,最后以中国金桥旅游总公司为例,结合模型分析其利润模式,制定其定价策略,并为公司以后的定价提供参考。     

The use of small instant loans among young adults – a gateway to a consumer insolvency?

The aim of this paper is to study 18‐ to 29‐year‐old Finnish consumers' use of instant small loans (i.e. SMS loan) and other consumer credit services that have increased notably in the past few years. We examine what kind of expenditures instant credit is used for and focus also on young consumers' financial situation and their perceptions of themselves as money handlers. The research method is quantitative, and data are derived from an open online survey (n = 1610). Our results reveal that consumer credit is used by young people in all income brackets and employment positions. However, there is a clear connection between certain life‐course stages (young, single parent), financial positions (low income), employment situations (marginal) and the propensity to take instant loans and consumer credit. The young people who take an instant loan once are likely to do it again. Typical purposes of use included buying alcohol, cigarettes and partying. For some consumers, the use of small loans is part of controlled and economical use of money. However, particularly in the low‐income brackets, it is also common to buy food and to repay credit or interest. Young people, who use instant loans recognize flaws in their money management and see themselves as ‘wasteful’ consumers more often than those who do not use instant loans. On the basis of this empirical study, it is unquestioned that young people's consumer education needs to be strengthened. In Finland, this need has already been recognized in both consumer policy and teacher education.     

Finnish young people's narrative construction of consumer identity

This article examines how young Finns represent their consumer identity through narratives. Young consumers are easily seen as careless spenders and selfish hedonists in the contemporary consumer society. However, an empirical approach is required in order to find out whether this generation of young Finnish consumers is one of ‘raving hedonists’ or ‘ultimate materialists’, as their peers are often presented in public discussion in many western societies. The empirical data was collected in five upper secondary schools between the end of November 2001 and the beginning of January 2002. These schools are located in five different districts in Finland, varying from metropolitan to rural areas. The study focused on students aged 16–19 years and used essay writing as the method for collecting qualitative data. The data thus consists of 159 life stories as a consumer written by young Finnish people. Qualitative research methods, such as narrative analysis, were used in this study. It is argued that Finnish young people are representing their identities as consumers through a combination of various levels of consumer discourses besides hedonism and squandering: rationality and economizing are an essential part of their consumer identities. Some youngsters also present themselves as responsible consumers including ecological and ethical choices as part of their narrative. The way these youngsters combine discourses gives evidence of the various features of the present‐day young consumer. It is also suggested that their consumer identity develops and changes with age. Young people describe their identity changing through a hedonist/squanderer discourse to a rational and economical one or vice versa. They also combine hedonist, rational, economical and responsible discourses simultaneously.     

Accounting Losses and Earnings Response Coefficients: The Impact of Leverage and Growth Opportunities

This paper investigates how accounting losses affect the relationship between accounting earnings and stock returns, i.e. earnings response coefficients (ERCs), in different leverage and growth categories. In a sample of NYSE firms between 1975 and 1990, the exclusion of losses improves the ERCs considerably. While the impact of losses on ERCs is highest in the subgroup including high growth opportunity firms, the exclusion of losses does not improve ERCs as significantly among firms with low growth opportunities. The results further support the hypothesis that the impact of losses on ERCs is different in different financial leverage subgroups. The measured increase in ERCs is most significant among the least levered firms. The observation that the impact of losses on ERCs is related to growth opportunities and financial leverage is clearly observable also in different size categories. The effects of growth opportunities and financial leverage are also incrementally important with respect to each other. In general, the results indicate that the impact of growth opportunities and financial leverage on ERCs is clearly observable especially when losses and profits are analyzed separately.     

Role conflict and ambiguity confronting transnational business networkers: Contrasting social stigma and relational risks for Chinese and Western boundary spanners

Our research explores the role conflict, ambiguity and resulting social stigma and relational risks that transnational B2B networkers face when facilitating the formation of new exchange dyads between firms from distinct and distant cultures, i.e. Chinese and Western. We integrate literature from institution theory and role theory to establish the comparative framework. This allows us to explore: (1) what stigma and relational risks guanxi brokers assume when facilitating transnational business connections; (2) if Western brokers encounter similar stigma and negative consequences that threaten their professional standing and the formation process; and, (3) the lessons from both that transnational firms can learn and incorporate into best practices. We conclude our paper with managerial implications and suggestions for further research.     

What beliefs underlie decisions to buy groceries online?

Online grocery shopping has become increasingly popular in many countries due to Covid-19. Although there is plenty of research on consumer adoption and use of online grocery shopping, only a few studies focus on understanding the underlying beliefs of experienced buyers. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour and following its recommendations, the present study set out to explore the actual beliefs that underlie attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control to buy groceries online among those who have been doing it regularly for a longer time. A structured qualitative approach, in this case an elicitation study, was applied to uncover the shared ideas, modal salient beliefs, among a group of experienced buyers (n = 14). The study found that time-saving and convenience, which for many meant avoiding the discomfort of in-store shopping, combined with assisted meal planning and simultaneous ordering were considered important for experienced online shoppers. This suggests that further assistance in the planning to order process may be welcome, including more proactive prompts and suggestions. The quality of perishable goods was still a concern after months of online shopping, along with a limited product range, which for some had meant less variation in meals. Suboptimal user interface and delivery-related inflexibility caused some concern. Retailers in the grocery business stand before major capital expenditure if they wish to expand their online offerings and services. The study at hand provides valuable initial insight into what drives consumer behaviour in this respect.     

Option pricing: a yet simpler approach

Decisions in Economics and Finance - We provide a lean, non-technical exposition on the pricing of path-dependent and European-style derivatives in the Cox–Ross–Rubinstein (CRR) pricing...