Relationship between management ownership and firm value among the business group affiliated firms in Korea

In this paper, we revisit an old issue on the relation between management ownership and firm’s value. The Korean panel data on the business group firms, allows us to compute ownership right and control right separately for each business group affiliated firm. Our measures are different from the similar measures on the Korean firms as in Baek et al. (2004) or Joh (2003). Rather than confounding the two offsetting effects, this paper tests convergence of interest hypothesis and entrenchment hypothesis separately. Empirical findings show that, given control right, there is no clear-cut relation between firm value and the inside management ownership for most firms with the inside management ownership less than 42%, that there is a positive relation between firm value and the inside management ownership for those firms with the inside management ownership higher than 42%, and that, given ownership right, profitability decreases as control right increases.     

Greening transportation fleets: Insights from a two-stage game theoretic model

The greening of organizational transportation fleets, especially trucks and automobiles, has gained increasing attention by companies in a variety of industrial sectors. The reasons for this concern and attention are due to regulatory and competitive pressures, but also increasing costs of fossil-fuels. Surprisingly the amount of research and modeling for fleet management overall has been rather limited, with the focus on managing green vehicle investments virtually non-existent. In this study we develop a two-stage game theoretic model that helps evaluate, from both policy and organizational perspectives, the implications of greening of transportation fleets. Various parameters are evaluated including factors such as innovations in green vehicle technology, levels of service differences, cost of fuel, adjusting tax policy, regulatory compliance requirements, and adaptation costs. This evaluation provides practical insights into actions that could be considered by regulators and organizations to encourage environmental investments.     

The Impact of Ethical Ideologies,Moral Intensity,and Social Context on Sales-Based Ethical Reasoning

Previous research indicates that ethical ideologies, issue-contingencies, and social context can impact ethical reasoning in different business situations. However, the manner in which these constructs work together to shape different steps of the ethical decision-making process is not always clear. The purpose of this study was to address these issues by exploring the influence of idealism and relativism, perceived moral intensity in a decision-making situation, and social context on the recognition of an ethical issue and ethical intention. Utilizing a sales-based scenario and multiple ethics measures included on a self-report questionnaire, data were collected from a regional sample of business students, most of whom had modest work experience. The results indicated that perceived moral intensity was associated with increased ethical issue recognition and ethical intention. Idealism was also associated with increased ethical issue recognition, and relativism was associated with decreased ethical intention. Social consensus was positively related to ethical issue recognition and intention, while competitive context was inversely related to ethical intention. Finally, ethical issue recognition was associated with increased ethical intention. Idealism, moral intensity, social consensus, and work experience worked together as predictors of ethical issue recognition, whereas recognition of an ethical issue, relativism, moral intensity, social consensus, and competitive context worked together to predict ethical intention.     

A Study on Flow Experience Structures: Enhancement or Death,Prospects for the Korean Wave

In proposing the concept of flow which focuses on experiencing the sites visited by Korean Wave tourists as induced by drama or movies, the role of involvement level (variables) of Korean Wave tourists in influencing flow construct as they experience the sites of FIT (Film Induced Tourism) was investigated. The involvement level of Korean Wave visitors was found to operate as a mechanism by which challenge, skills, and focused attention on site might be more organized or more actively experienced. This recognizes that there is clearly a need for making the FIT sites exposed much by any mix of various media. The findings of this study showed that challenges and skills influence enjoyment as an output factor of flow. Film site visitors are assumed to participate in the roles of film characters, experiencing the places and the atmosphere. The degree of visitors' reflections of the film optimizes awareness of flow experiences on the site. Therefore it is necessary to provide more detailed experiential programs on the film sites with a wide variety of flow-related contents in the film.     

The spatial and temporal variation in passenger service rate and its impact on train dwell time: A time-series clustering approach using dynamic time warping

This study aims to improve the understanding of the underlying mechanism of passenger boarding and alighting processes, as well as its potential influence on train dwell time and train operation. Empirical data collected from one of busiest metro stations in Seoul, Korea, demonstrates the spatial and temporal variation in the passenger service rate, as a result of interference between boarding, alighting, and standing passengers. This study postulates that the level of interference can be associated with the train car occupancy and the proximity of train door to entry points, as waiting passengers tend to cluster near the platform entries. A unique temporal service rate curve is derived from each door location. We introduce Dynamic Time Warping for similarity assessment and clustering. It revealed four groups of train doors showing distinct shapes of curve from each platform. The first cluster includes the train doors located closest to the platform entry points where the initial service rate is drastically impeded by severe inference among passengers. The level of interference gradually diminishes as the door is located farther away from the entry points, but the overall service rate decreases as well. A passenger service time model is derived to include the cluster variable. To test its significance, the prediction capability of the model is presented with and without the cluster variable. The results of this study may be used to guide waiting passengers along the platform to minimize interference and to avoid serious disruption during passenger service time.     

From schoolyard to workplace: The impact of bullying on sales and business employees' machiavellianism,job satisfaction,and perceived importance of an ethical issue

Bullying can precipitate many negative outcomes at work, but previous research does not adequately address how such misbehavior affects employee dispositions and attitudes; how these characteristics impact ethical decision making is also underexplored. Given these research gaps, the purpose of this study is to assess (1) the impact of bullying on Machiavellianism and job satisfaction, and (2) the influences of Machiavellianism and job satisfaction on perceived ethical issue importance, a measure of ethical decision making. Three hundred eighty‐four sales and business employees working for different firms operating in the United States answered a self‐report questionnaire. The findings showed that, after accounting for social desirability bias, workplace bullying was positively associated with Machiavellianism and negatively associated with job satisfaction. Machiavellianism was negatively related to the perceived importance of an ethical issue embedded in a vignette highlighting Machiavellianism and latent bullying behaviors. In addition, job satisfaction was positively related to ethical issue importance. Finally, both Machiavellianism and job satisfaction mediated the relationship between bullying experiences and importance of an ethical issue, as evidenced by their significant indirect effects. HR professionals should minimize bullying and Machiavellianism to reduce the corrosive effect on the ethical environment and enhance work attitudes and ethical decisions.     

Recreational benefits from a marine protected area: A travel cost analysis of Lundy

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been proposed in many countries as a means of conserving parts of the marine environment. In some cases, MPAs may also confer recreational benefits. In this paper, a travel cost model is used to estimate the non-market recreational benefits arising from the Lundy Island Marine Nature Reserve (MNR). The estimated mean consumer surplus for visiting Lundy was found to range from £359 to £574 per trip. The designation of No Take Zone (NTZ) has also contributed to higher consumer surplus values. This result provides a strong economic justification for the designation of MPAs for recreational as well as conservation purposes.     

Effective communication styles for the customer-oriented service employee: Inducing dedicational behaviors in luxury restaurant patrons

The goals of this study were (1) to identify the optimal facets of communication style for customer-oriented service employees and (2) to examine the ways in which the customer-oriented service employee (COSE) induces luxury restaurant patrons’ dedicational behaviors. Customer dedicational behaviors are defined as ‘a set of active and positive customer voluntary behaviors towards a business induced by high relationship quality’. Based on the existing body of communication literature, nine types of communication styles were derived. Theoretical relationships between the nine communication styles and the COSE also were developed via literature review, and causal relationships between the COSE and three different types of consumer dedicational behavior styles were subsequently suggested. By integrating the derived theoretical hypotheses, a conceptual model was proposed and then tested utilizing data collected from 527 luxury restaurant patrons. The results of data analysis revealed that five types of communication styles (attentive, friendly, impression leaving, open, and relaxed) bear a positive impact on COSE, while one communication style (contentious) bears a negative impact. It was also found that the customer-oriented service employee plays a critical role in inducing three types of dedicational behaviors in consumers: enhancement, cooperation, and advocacy. The key theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed in the latter part of this article.     

Creating a model of customer equity for chain restaurant brand formation

The purpose of this research was to create and test a model of customer equity for chain restaurant brand formation. It has long been acknowledged that managing and enhancing customer equity influences a company's shareholder value, which is a reflection of long-term financial performance. A review of the current literature revealed three key determinants of customer equity: (1) value equity, (2) brand equity, and (3) relationship equity. Six hypotheses were derived and, based on data analysis, all six were supported. Value, brand, and relationship management were all confirmed to be important factors in enhancing customer equity in the chain restaurant industry. Further, brand equity has the strongest impact on the development of customer equity in this particular industry. Relationships among value equity, brand equity, and relationship equity were also identified. Managerial implications are discussed.     

The Antecedents and Consequences of Travelers' Need for Uniqueness: An Empirical Study of Restaurant Experiences

Dining out at a restaurant is one of the most important parts of travelers' tourism experience. The purpose of this research was to examine the antecedents and consequences of travelers' need for uniqueness (CNFU) in their restaurant experiences. Based on a literature review, three theoretical antecedents (perceived firm innovativeness (PFI), perceived firm uniqueness, and brand prestige) and three theoretical consequences (utilitarian value, hedonic value, and behavioral intentions) were proposed. During this process, it was theorized that consumers' uniqueness-seeking behaviors can be strengthened and/or weakened by three psychological moderators: attention to social comparison information (ATSCI), face consciousness, and materialism. By integrating the theoretical arguments, a structural model was proposed. The proposed model was tested using data collected from 379 travelers who had dined out at a luxury restaurant in the past three months. According to the data analysis results, PFI, perceived firm uniqueness, and brand prestige were all confirmed to be important factors in enhancing CNFU. Furthermore, it was determined that CNFU bears a positive impact on behavioral intentions, an impact that is mediated by perceived value. Lastly, the moderating roles of ATSCI and materialism were found to be significant. In the latter part of this research, managerial implications derived from the data analysis results are discussed.