Does local political support influence financial markets? A study on the impact of job approval ratings of political representatives on local stock returns

Using data on job approval ratings of governors, U.S. senators, and the president, we find that firms located in states with high approval ratings outperform firms located in states with low approval ratings by .64% per month. Furthermore, this relationship is stronger when investors are actively involved in politics, when local politicians are closer to the center of political power, for small firms that have a larger proportion of local investors, and for financially strong areas where investors are ready to execute investments in local stocks. Overall, our study shows that investors’ political sentiment is important in determining stock returns.     

Monetary policy regime change and regional inflation dynamics: looking through the lens of sector‐level data for Korea

This paper explores the impact of the adoption of inflation targeting (IT) on the dynamics of city‐level inflation in Korea using both aggregate and sector‐level data. When looking at aggregate regional inflation, we find that the mean, volatility and persistence fell in all cities in the wake of the monetary policy regime change, consistent with other evidence in the literature. Delving more deeply into the disaggregate data reveals additional insights however. For most of the changes we observe in the dynamics of regional inflation, we find that the aggregate effects are being driven primarily by sectors that fall into the ‘Services’ category. We posit that the impact of better anchored inflationary expectations is primarily on the less‐traded services sectors of the economy, where the domestic monetary policy framework has a relatively larger influence. When it comes to the increased co‐movement observed across regions under an IT regime, however, it is the ‘Commodities’ sectors rather than ‘Services’ that are responsible, probably because services inflation becomes relatively more influenced by local factors once it has stabilized within the target range. Therefore, adoption of IT may not necessarily increase all measures of regional synchronization even when the goal of better‐anchored inflationary expectations is achieved.     

A Study on the KBS TV Drama Winter Sonata and its Impact on Korea's Hallyu Tourism Development

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ties between the success of a TV drama Winter Sonata, produced by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), and the flow of tourism into Korea. By deconstructing the Hallyu phenomenon, started in part by Winter Sonata, the study tries to determine possibilities for Korean tourism expansion. Literature reviews, tourism data, interviews with specialists, and actual pieces of feedback from Winter Sonata's Egyptian audience are referred to draw conclusions on the subject matter. Results show promising markets far beyond just Asia, touched by Hallyu, but not the opportunity to tour Korea yet. Suggestions are then made on how to help sustain Hallyu tourism and increase access to potential new travel markets, especially those in diverse Islamic regions around the world.     

Avoiding a “me” versus “we” dilemma: Using performance management to turn teams into a source of competitive advantage

Teams are pervasive in today's world of work. Unfortunately, in many cases teams do not live up to their promise and, instead, lead to disappointing results. In this installation of Human Performance, we discuss how to design and implement performance management systems that include a good combination of both “me” and “we” considerations. We offer the following research-based recommendations: (1) use measures of individual and team performance, (2) use measures of processes and outcomes, (3) develop performance measures using input from inside and outside the team, (4) gather performance information using sources from inside and outside the team, (5) foster team learning and development, and (6) reward both individual and team performance. We discuss implementation guidelines for each of these recommendations that will help maximize individual and team performance as well as alignment among individual, team, and organizational goals. Implementing performance management systems following our recommendations will help organizations turn teams into an inimitable and sustainable source of competitive human capital advantage.     

Motivational antecedents of leader-member exchange differentiation: Evidence from South Korea

Researchers have focused on the group-level leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation in order to develop a more comprehensive view of within-group variability of LMX. Although the group-level LMX differentiation has been thought to have significant impacts on both individual and group outcomes, we know little about what makes leaders have differential relationships with their members. Drawing on both motives theory and interpersonal interaction theory, we examined the antecedents of LMX differentiation in a sample of 94 group leaders and 553 members of design companies in South Korea. Results indicated that whereas leaders high in affiliation motives had less differential relationships, leaders high in power motives had more differential relationships. We also found that the negative relationship between leaders’ affiliation motives and LMX differentiation was stronger when members’ affiliation and power motives were higher. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Explicating the ‘like’ on Facebook brand pages: The effect of intensity of Facebook use,number of overall ‘likes’, and number of friends' ‘likes’ on consumers' brand outcomes

This study examined the relationship between the number of overall ‘likes’ and friends' ‘likes’ on Facebook brand pages in influencing consumers' brand attitude, brand trust, brand involvement, and purchase intention, drawing upon theoretical concepts including diffusion of innovations, social capital theory, strength of weak ties, sociometric versus perceptual popularity, and prior research in online impression formation. Results of a 2 × 2 experiment revealed significant main effects of number of overall ‘likes’ and friends' ‘likes’ on key dependent measures. A significant interaction effect was also found between overall ‘likes’ and friends' ‘likes’. Additionally, intensity of Facebook use also mediated the relationships between number of overall ‘likes’ and friends' ‘likes’ with brand attitude, brand trust, and purchase intention.     

Team creativity: the effects of perceived learning culture,developmental feedback and team cohesion

This study investigates the influence of perceived learning culture, developmental feedback and team cohesion on team creativity. The results showed that the demographic variables, the three antecedents and their interactions explained 41 per cent of variance in team creativity. Team creativity was positively correlated with a higher level of learning culture, developmental feedback and team cohesion. In addition to the main effects, two interaction effects (developmental feedback and team cohesion; learning culture and team cohesion) were significant. In view of these results, organizations seeking to increase team creativity need an integrated strategy incorporating elements of culture management, effective coaching and team development. Implications, limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Sluggish Recovery from the Financial Crisis: Crowding-out Effect and Contagion

Abstract

The stimulus plans by the US Government after the financial crisis in 2008 may decrease private investment by means of a crowding-out effect. The US Federal Reserve utilized quantitative easing policies to maintain the interest rate as low as possible to minimize crowding-out. The 2008 financial crisis also affects other economies through contagion effects. This paper investigates the existence of the crowding-out effect and contagion effect after the crisis using Temin and Voth's models. The empirical results from vector autoregession show that there is a crowding-out effect in the US economy as well as a contagion effect of the crisis on the Korean and Japanese economies.     

Spatial heterogeneity of country-of-origin effects within a country: analysis of online review ratings in the US car market

We investigate spatial heterogeneity of country-of-origin effects (COEs) within a country and its determinants. Drawing on the literature of COEs and information economics, we maintain that COEs are heterogeneous across regions within a country, which bears important implications to better understand subnational heterogeneity of consumer preferences. We employ a geographically weighted regression model, a spatial analysis to estimate varying COEs across regions in the USA, and analyze online review ratings of US and foreign car bands in the US market during the 2008–2014 period. The results show that (1) COEs of car brands from Germany, Japan, Korea, and the UK are heterogeneous across regions in the USA; (2) geographic distance from the country-of-origin exerts negative influences on COEs; and (3) the proportion of population born in the country-of-origin positively influences COEs.