The BYOB of wine phenomenon of consumers in the Australian licensed on-premise foodservice sector

The overall aim of this baseline exploratory study was to explore the behaviour of wine consumers while dining out in the licensed on-premise sector of foodservice outlets in Australia. It examined the incidence and dynamics of the rather unique situation associated with wine in these outlets, namely the “bring-your-own-bottle of wine” (BYOB) phenomenon. A total of 816 respondents provided information regarding their most recent dining out experience. It was found that the BYOB of wine phenomenon is quite prevalent in Australian licensed on-premise foodservice outlets with 26% of all diners reporting that they had engaged in this the last time they dined out. Females engaged in the BYOB of wine to a greater extent than males and cited the lower cost to them as the main reason. Evidence was also found that the main motivating factor for the BYOB of wine phenomenon among diners was their risk perception levels and that it was therefore employed by consumers mainly as a risk-reduction strategy (RRS). This study showed that the BYOB of wine phenomenon should be added to the knowledge base on generic risk-reduction strategies of the on-premise foodservice sector.     

Do board directors affect the export propensity and export performance of Korean firms? A resource dependence perspective

Using the Heckman two-stage method, this study empirically investigates whether board directors’ work experience in government and multinational corporations (MNCs), as well as the proportion of outside directors affects export propensity and export performance based on a sample of Korean firms. We find that the Korean firms with former government officials on the board are more likely to engage in exporting, although there is no empirical evidence supporting export performance. The findings also show that firms with former MNC employees on the board demonstrate higher levels of export propensity and export performance. Similarly, firms with a higher proportion of outside directors exhibit a higher level of export propensity and export performance. These findings highlight the importance of the board of directors in Korean firms’ first stage of internationalization and provide new insights into which type of board members can benefit their firms in terms of export propensity and export performance.     

The relationship between corporate social responsibility,financial misstatements and SEC enforcement actions

This study explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR), financial misstatements and SEC enforcement actions. We find that firms with higher CSR are less likely to receive SEC enforcement actions for financial misstatements. Drawing on insights from stakeholder theory and the reputational literature, we identify two channels underpinning this relationship: (i) firms with higher CSR are less likely to engage in financial misstatements and (ii) the reputational effect of CSR reduces the likelihood of SEC enforcement actions. We find empirical evidence consistent with both channels.     

Transparency and currency crises

The role transparency plays in the prevention of currency crises is widely acknowledged. Nevertheless, the relationship between transparency and currency crises has rarely been subjected to systematic cross‐national scrutiny. This paper attempts to explore the effect of transparency on currency crises by focusing on a specific dimension of transparency: the public dissemination of aggregate economic data by governments. My analysis provides strong evidence that greater transparency is associated with a lower likelihood of currency crises, regardless of economic conditions. When I add economic and political determinants of currency crises, the estimate of transparency remains unaltered in magnitude or statistical significance.     

How you see yourself influences your color preference: Effects of self-construal on evaluations of color combinations

The present study examines the role of self-construal in the preference for analogous versus complementary color combinations. The majority of previous research on color has been limited to exploration of single colors. However, designers and marketers often use a mix of colors whose harmony must be taken into consideration, which includes choosing whether to use colors placed next to each other on the color wheel (analogous combination) or to combine colors that are opposite each other (complementary combination). The current study proposes that self-construal influences the perception of and preference for color combinations. Individuals with interdependent self-construals tend to focus on relational similarity and value harmony, whereas individuals with independent self-construals tend to view objects as discrete and disconnected. Accordingly, the authors posited that individuals with interdependent self-construals would be more sensitive to the relationship between two colors and perceive analogous colors as more harmonious, thus preferring brands and products featuring analogous colors to those featuring complementary colors. Contrariwise, individuals with independent self-construals would display indifference in this regard. The hypotheses were confirmed in four studies employing various colors to form analogous and complementary color combinations.     

Revealing global hot spots of technological disasters: 1900–2013

Technological disasters can happen in any country in the world and cause human fatalities, injuries, and economic damages, among other physical and social consequences. As the world adopts more technologies, becomes further industrialized, continues faster urbanization, and has larger and more concentrated population, the occurrences and impacts of technological disasters are likely to be more frequent and severe and call for more scholarly research. However, there is a lack of good models for reliable technological risk analysis, which is the foundation for effective preparation for, sound mitigation of, and quick recovery from technological disasters. This research develops an expected risk analysis model, including a base sub-model and a location quotient sub-model, for nearly 200 countries of the world, using the technological disasters recorded in the EM-DAT database for the period 1900–2013. The sub-models are based on country-level risk impacts in terms of expected fatalities, injuries, people affected, and economic losses, their standard deviations, ranges, and corresponding country percentages and ranks. The sub-models are validated using correlations and scatter plots for the observed and expected risk impacts. The results show that the sub-models perform well by yielding consistent expected risks and related measures, indicating that the expected risk analysis model is a reasonably good alternative to existing risk analysis models.     

Revisiting asset pricing under habit formation in an overlapping-generations economy

By incorporating habit formation into an overlapping-generations economy, we show that the middle-aged consumers’ savings decision has a substantial impact on the equity premium. The higher incentive for savings for the middle-aged, resulting from the habit formation preference, causes an even higher demand for bonds and a lower demand for equity, which eventually generates a lower risk-free rate and a higher required return for holding equity than does the framework of non-habit forming models. Calibration results verify that the habit formation setting, together with an OLG framework is capable of yielding lower bond returns and higher equity returns than the standard CRRA utility models, and the borrowing constraint imposed on the young-aged consumers amplifies the positive effect of habit formation on the equity premium. The findings imply that habit formation preferences within the overlapping-generations framework under the borrowing-constrained economy can provide a more improved explanation of the equity premium puzzle.     

Corporate Tax Incentives for R&D Investment in OECD Countries

Differentiating internal equity from debt finance, this study examines the generosity of R&D-specific tax incentives in OECD countries based on an NPV model. The corporate tax system generally favours debt finance and some previous findings on the possible preponderance of internal equity for financing R&D investment cannot be explained in relation to R&D-specific tax concessions. The OECD comparison demonstrates that R&D tax allowances adopted in the Czech Republic, Belgium, the UK, Denmark, Hungary, Austria and Australia generated the most substantial tax savings in 2006. Combined with such incentives, the after-tax NPV increases with the corporate tax rate, suggesting stronger investment stimulation through a tax-rate-increase-cum-base-broadening policy.     

Consumers' Needs for Public Education and Corporate Participation Regarding Child Internet Addiction: Based on the Risk Perception Attitude Framework

Internet addiction, which causes physical, behavioral, and psychological problems, especially in children, is becoming an increasingly common disorder in contemporary society. This study investigated the needs of consumers for public education and corporate participation in South Korea to prevent or reduce the risk to young children becoming addicted to the Internet, and classified consumers into four groups according to their risk perception and efficacy beliefs using the Risk Perception Attitude framework. The expressed consumer need for public education was higher for groups with low efficacy beliefs, whereas the expressed need for corporate participation was higher for groups with high efficacy beliefs. These results indicate that consumers who perceive the risk as out of their control feel a higher need for a public approach, while those with high efficacy beliefs feel a higher need for corporate efforts.     

Imperfect information and labor market bias against small and medium-sized enterprises: a Korean case

We examine the labor market’s bias against small and medium-sized enterprises focusing on the Seoul Digital Industrial Complex case. We adopt Heckman’s approach to control selection bias, and use primary data from questionnaire surveys conducted at both firm and employee levels. We find that conventional firm-specific factors, such as wages, fringe benefits, and weekly work hours, primarily explain the labor market bias, but imperfect information is also positively associated with the bias. For example, a firm’s inadequate ability to identify a pool of potential employee candidates or to provide them comprehensive firm- or job-specific information tends to worsen labor shortages, and an employee’s ex-ante incomplete knowledge of on-the-job training or education opportunities tends to increase ex-post turnover intentions. Our results suggest that reducing the market bias requires improving imperfect information as well as conventional firm-specific conditions.