Segmentation by Travel Related Risks: An Integrated Approach

This study took an integrated approach toward traveler risk segmentation by including psychological and behavioral variables together in the one study. This is an important first step to develop interventions targeting risk segments. A total of 864 respondents were surveyed in an Australian airport departure lounge. The results showed travel behavior and risk reduction strategies as the most significant model predictors. Three segments were identified including a higher-risk segment was found to comprise mostly older, visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travelers on repeat visits. Implications for developing more effective communication interventions are provided and future research directions are proposed.     

The influence of competition from informal firms on new product development

Research summary : Existing research describes a broad range of determinants of new product development (NPD), a fundamental competitive activity of firms. A considerable share of this work has occurred in the context of developed economies, raising a concern that some important determinants may remain unexamined. We suggest that one such determinant is competition from informal (unregistered) firms. Drawing from the attention‐based view, we investigate the effects of informal competition on NPD in a large sample of firms located across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We examine not only the direct effect but also how this effect is moderated by characteristics of the competitive and institutional context. Managerial summary : The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between competition from informal (unregistered) firms and new product development (NPD) by formal firms. We argue that NPD is an effective response to differentiate from informal firms, and our analyses of over 9,000 firms located in emerging economies across Eastern Europe and Central Asia indicate that NPD activities are more likely in formal firms who rate informal competition as a greater obstacle. The strength of this direct relationship depends on aspects of the competitive and institutional environment: it is weakened when levels of competition from other formal firms are higher, when alternative responses such as corruption are more available, and when managers are more optimistic about the regulatory environment. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Budgetary constraints and programmatic choices by Flemish subsidized theatres

We analyse programmatic choices of Flemish theatres and examine how they are affected by the theatres’ budgetary situation. Following Lancaster's characteristics approach, we identify several output characteristics of individual Flemish theatres during the period 1980 to 2000. A simultaneous equation approach is used to capture the theatre managers’, subsidizing government's and consumers’ behaviour. We find that changes in the budgetary situation of a theatre are translated into changes of both the ‘amount’ and the nature of the theatre's output. The budgetary impact on artistic choices has intensified since the introduction of a 4-yearly instead of yearly allocation of subsidies. The decrease in financial risk for the individual theatres leads to an increase in artistic risk-taking.     

Drug discovery and development in four Canadian biotech companies

In this paper, we discuss the R&D process in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry from the viewpoint of four leading Canadian biotech startups. Based on a series of interviews with these firms, we outline the role of joint ventures and strategic alliances with university laboratories and with large established pharmaceutical firms in furthering these small firms' ambition of themselves becoming large and established. We find that the evolution of this industry has made this goal much harder to reach and we discuss the creative ways in which these firms have adapted and thrived.     

Black-owned commercial banks: A new look at their performance and management

Summary This research has explored management and financial characteristics within mature black banks over the period of 1978–81. In general, although loan loss management remains a key variable in successful financial performance, other variables often argued to explain profitability differences between black and nonminority banks were not so helpful in explaining profit variation among black banks. It appears that a new model of successful black banking must be developed.     

Product Characteristics and the Effectiveness of Dow’s Countermeasure for Predatory Pricing

Predatory pricing theoretically occurs when a firm cuts its price below cost with the intention of driving competitors out of the market so that the predatory firm can then act as a monopolist. Herbert H. Dow, founder of the Dow Chemical Company, saw his company face such a predator, the German Bromkonvention, in the American market for bromine in the early 20^th century. Dow responded with an ingenious gambit – he secretly purchased the low cost German bromine and then repackaged and resold it on the European market at a profit. This case has been offered as evidence that predatory pricing is unlikely to exist in the real world, since the prey can simply do what Dow did. This paper explores the product and market attributes that must be present in order for the Dow Gambit, or variations of it, to be used as a successful countermeasure for predatory pricing. We examine product and market attributes in 15 other well-known cases of predatory pricing to gain some empirical insight. In only two of these were the product and market characteristics as favorable for the prey to employ the Dow Gambit as they were toward Dow himself. We conclude that the Dow Gambit can only be employed in a narrow set of circumstances     

Trade openness reduces growth volatility when countries are well diversified

This paper addresses the mechanisms by which trade openness affects growth volatility. Using a diverse set of export concentration measures, we present strong evidence pointing to an important role for export diversification in conditioning the effect of trade openness on growth volatility. Indeed, the effect of openness on volatility is shown to be negative for a significant proportion of countries with relatively diversified export baskets.