The localisation of a global management control system

This study examines how the management control system designed at the head office of an increasingly globalised hotel chain was enacted within one of its sub-units; a joint venture operating in the hospitality industry in Portugal. We found that the practices which comprised the global management control system were reproduced within this joint venture. Yet, at the same time, its managers made the global system ‘work’ for them, thereby producing variety. Albeit our findings are in line with Barrett, Cooper, and Jamal’s (2005) study, which was inspired by [Giddens, 1990] and [Giddens, 1991], we interpret them somewhat differently as we draw on the work of [Robertson, 1992] and [Robertson, 1995]. We view localisation as a process through which heterogeneous practices can emerge to facilitate the homogenising tendencies of globalisation by complementing, rather than undermining or opposing, it. As a result, the local can differentiate itself from the global. Also, by linking our findings to the notion of situated functionality in Ahrens and Chapman (2007), we argue that this heterogeneity can be produced when organisational members, whatever their level in the organisation, seek to achieve both the corporate and their own specific objectives.     

Income Taxation and Finite Horizons in a Human Capital Model

We address the issue ofcapital vs. labor income taxation in an overlapping generationsmodel with a positive externality in the human capital production.We compare the performance of the economy in the steady stateunder different tax policies. Three results are obtained. First,the size of the tax revenue required strongly affects the optimal(welfare maximizing) capital-labor income tax portfolio. Inparticular, a zero physical capital income tax rate need notbe optimal. Second, the way in which the finite life cycle issplit between the working and the retirement period also matters.And third, the size of the externality in the human capital productionalso affects the optimal income tax rate mix.     

THE IDENTIFICATION AND ECONOMIC CONTENT OF ORDERED CHOICE MODELS WITH STOCHASTIC THRESHOLDS*

This article extends the widely used ordered choice model by introducing stochastic thresholds and interval‐specific outcomes. The model can be interpreted as a generalization of the GAFT (MPH) framework for discrete duration data that jointly models durations and outcomes associated with different stopping times. We establish conditions for nonparametric identification. We interpret the ordered choice model as a special case of a general discrete choice model and as a special case of a dynamic discrete choice model.     

Co‐Worker Exclusion and Employee Outcomes: An Investigation of the Moderating Roles of Perceived Organizational and Social Support

When does social support alleviate or exacerbate the effects of being excluded by colleagues in the workplace? This study integrates belongingness and social support theories to predict and demonstrate the differential effects of work‐related support (i.e., perceived organizational support; POS) and non‐work‐related support (i.e., family and social support; FSS) on employee reactions to co‐worker exclusion. Consistent with our predictions, we found that employees reporting high levels of co‐worker exclusion and high levels of perceived organizational support demonstrate higher levels of performance and increased levels of self‐worth than those reporting low levels of POS. Alternatively, support from family or friends intensified the negative relationship between co‐worker exclusion and self‐esteem and the positive relationship between co‐worker exclusion and job‐induced tension. Unexpectedly, FSS did not influence the supervisor‐rated task performance of excluded workers, nor did POS mitigate the relationship between co‐worker exclusion and job‐induced tension. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Residents' perceptions of tourism impacts in Guimarães (Portugal): a cluster analysis

In this investigation, a cluster analysis was used to separate Guimarães (Portugal) residents into clusters according to their perceptions of the impacts of tourism development. This approach is uncommonly applied to Portugal data and is even rarer for world heritage sites. The world heritage designation is believed to make an area more attractive to tourists. The clustering procedure analysed 400 data observations from a Guimarães resident survey and revealed the existence of three clusters: the Sceptics, the Moderately Optimistic and the Enthusiasts. The results were consistent with the empirical literature's results, with the emergent nature of the destination found to be relevant. The fact that tourism is relatively recent in this destination has its major reflex in the devaluation by most of the residents of the negative impacts of tourism development.     

Panama disease and contract farming in the Philippines: Towards a political ecology of risk

Despite the vast research on contract farming by agrarian scholars, little is known about interactions between biological risks and the social–political effects of contracts. This study analysed contract farming arrangements in the export banana industry in the Philippines amidst an expanding epidemic of Panama disease. We developed a political ecology of risk approach to investigate how ideas about technological and biological risks are influenced by contractual arrangements, and we borrowed from Cultural Theory the insight that risk and blame are connected concepts, always political, and disadvantage marginalized groups through disproportionate risk burdens. Data collection involved the study of contracts, interviews with decision‐makers, and focus group discussions with agrarian cooperatives. The views of both large corporations as well as organized smallholders were recorded. We found that the former contractually compel the latter to bear the burden of the disease, while blaming them for its spread. Risk decisions were embedded in the dynamics of agrarian social relationships, and economic and political arrangements between actors influenced possibilities and limitations for disease control. We argue that the contractual stipulations, in concert with blaming processes, create a discursive environment that both allow inequitable relations to remain unquestioned, and constrain possibilities for control of Panama disease.     

Linkage between perceived external prestige and emotional labor: Mediation effect of organizational identification among pharmaceutical representatives in India

With the increasing importance of customer service in sustaining competitive advantage, one of the challenges before the organizations is how to motivate their employees to perform desired emotional labor during customer interactions. The present study examines the linkage between perceived external prestige and emotional labor strategies among the pharmaceutical representatives in India. Drawing from the social comparison theory and social identity theory, the study shows that perceived external prestige influences employees’ emotional labor strategies directly as well as through organizational identification. Contributions of the study to theory and to human resource management practices are discussed.     

Quality practices and their influence on customer results: an empirical study

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the critical factors of quality and customer results in the rural accommodation sector. An extensive review of the academic literature allows us to propose a theoretical model that explains this relationship, together with the hypotheses to be validated by the technique of structural equation modelling. Empirical data were collected from 100 rural accommodation establishments in Spain certified with the Quality Management System. The results show a direct, significant and positive relationship between employee management and process management with customer results. Knowing the structure of relationships between the critical factors of quality and customer results provides managers of rural accommodation establishments with information about which factors they should focus their efforts on when their goal is to improve the results in their clients. The relationship between the critical factors of quality and customers results has not been analysed in the rural accommodation sector, an essential component of rural tourism, which in recent years is consolidating as a major tourist destination.     

Entrepreneurial competencies and motivations to enhance marketing innovation in Europe

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) country profile variables were analyzed using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). This analysis identified which combinations of entrepreneurs’ competencies and motivations boost marketing innovation. Marketing innovation contributes to defining and reinforcing competitive advantages, goal setting, and business performance. The findings of this study can help policymakers design strategies to foster regional marketing innovation and economic growth.     

Individual versus group strategy-proofness: When do they coincide?

A social choice function is group strategy-proof on a domain if no group of agents can manipulate its final outcome to their own benefit by declaring false preferences on that domain. There are a number of economically significant domains where interesting rules satisfying individual strategy-proofness can be defined, and for some of them, all these rules turn out to also satisfy the stronger requirement of group strategy-proofness. We provide conditions on domains guaranteeing that for all rules defined on them, individual and group strategy-proofness become equivalent. We also provide a partial answer regarding the necessity of our conditions.