Revisiting incubation performance: How incubator typology affects results

Relevant literature has discussed incubator versus nonincubator firm performance and the characteristics of different types of incubators. However, it has not considered assessing performance individually by archetype. We studied company performance in four archetypal incubators. Performance measures used fall into five categories drawn from literature: a) firm growth b) participation in R&D programs c) Input R&D d) Output R&D e) Employment generation cost. We find there are significant differences in three of the five performance categories among incubator types. We assess the performance of each one by determining whether the objectives for which each was created are met. Private, basic research and University archetypes meet their objectives. Regional development archetype does not.     

Empirical test of the trust–performance link in an international alliances context

Despite the widespread use of trust as a determinant of successful relationships, limited empirical evidence exists to substantiate a positive relationship between trust and performance. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents of trust and to examine the trust–performance relationship in international alliances. The conceptual model was tested empirically using primary data collected from 232 international alliances involving Portuguese and international firms. The results reported suggest that when controlling for the experience and size of a firm, trust has a strong and positive effect on performance. Key antecedents identified as significant influencers on trust are shared values, communication and opportunistic behaviour. Additionally, interaction effects are identified, indicating that similarities among partners enhance the positive relationship between trust and performance.     

Institutional factors and farmers’ adoption of conventional,organic and genetically modified cotton in Burkina Faso

Organic farming and genetically modified (GM) crops technologies are currently being promoted as alternatives to conventional farming that is seen as unsustainable. However, institutional constraints can impede the adoption of even the most sustainable technology. This paper analysed the effect of institutional factors on farmers’ adoption of conventional, organic and GM cotton in Burkina Faso. Building on the expected utility model and institutional theory, a multinomial logistic regression was performed using farmers’ survey data from the 2014–2015 production season. The results showed that subsidies on fertiliser and credit for cereals production, the power of farmers’ association and that of the cotton company favoured the adoption of conventional and GM cotton at the expense of organic cotton. In order to succeed, organic cotton projects need to include components that help farmers to access organic fertilisers for cereals production. They also need to involve the cotton companies that are the most powerful stakeholders of the cotton sector. Extension services are necessary for both organic and GM cotton adoption. Other important factors to consider include farmers’ education, the potentials of the technologies, the good agro-ecological conditions, the continued involvement of women, the availability of virgin lands and the closeness of farmers to their farms.     

Protest responses and community attitudes toward accepting compensation to host waste disposal infrastructure

Despite the use of host community compensation to solve NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) siting difficulties in many industrialised countries, the effectiveness of this policy is still being debated in academic and policy-making arenas. In this paper, we examine attitudes held regarding compensation in communities directly impacted upon by final waste disposal infrastructure projects (landfill and incineration) in Ireland using survey responses to two contingent valuation (CV) scenarios and a question relating to preferences for compensation delivery. We find that communities in the pre-construction planning phase for locally undesirable development are less accepting of compensation offers to host the facility than are communities who have lived with such developments to host an extension to the existing facility in their localities. However, many of our respondents who initially reject compensation offers in the CV question go on to accept at least one compensation package in the later compensation preference question. Using this information allows us to draw a distinction between ‘Hardcore’ and ‘Switcher’ protesters to illustrate a more subtle picture of rejection of locally undesirable facilities and compensation packages than has previously been articulated. Using probit regression analysis, we find that property rights or NIMBY concerns – specifically, the treatment of non-local waste at the facility is a concern for many residents – drive this rejection of compensation. Finally, contrary to previous studies concerning preferences for host compensation, community compensation is not always preferred to individual compensation payments.     

Life satisfaction and air quality in London

A growing body of research in economics concerns self-reported happiness, or life satisfaction (LS), and its relationship to a wide range of other variables. The findings of this research tend to highlight the importance of non-income aspects of individuals' life conditions.These findings are strongly complementary to themes within the sustainable development discourse. Firstly, they suggest ways in which we might consume less without compromising on our current levels of LS. And secondly, they help demonstrate the immediate LS benefits that could be gained from higher levels of environmental quality (EQ). However, the empirical evidence for the link between EQ and LS is, to date, somewhat weak, due in part to a lack of EQ data at a level of detail to match the individual-by-individual resolution of LS measures.This small, exploratory study therefore seeks to assess how the use of EQ data at very high spatial resolution could advance the empirical literature examining connections between LS and EQ levels, focusing on air quality in particular. It collects original survey data for approximately 400 Londoners, and uses geographical information system (GIS) software to calculate pollutant concentrations in the immediate vicinity of their homes. It uses this data to estimate maximum likelihood regression models explaining LS ratings in terms of a range of individual, household and local variables.Both perceived and measured air pollution levels are significantly negatively associated with the LS of the survey respondents, even when controlling for a wide range of other effects. An increase of 10 μg/m³ in annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentration appears to correspond on average to a drop of nearly half a point of LS on an 11-point rating scale.These findings cannot yet be generalised with confidence. However, if they were confirmed by larger future studies, they would appear to strengthen and extend existing arguments in favour of policies to reduce urban air pollution, framed both in terms of conventional economic efficiency analyses, and in wider political and ethical (and potentially legal) terms.     

Foreign Bank Entry: Experience, Implications for Developing Economies, and Agenda for Further Research

In recent years foreign banks have expanded their presence significantlyin several developing economies. In Argentina and Chile in LatinAmerica and in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland in EasternEurope, foreign-controlled banks now hold more than half oftotal banking assets. In other regions the trend is similar,though foreign bank entry has been slower. Despite the growingnumber of countries embracing foreign bank entry, importantquestions are still being debated: What draws foreign banksto a country? Which banks expand abroad? What do foreign banksdo once they arrive? How do foreign banks' mode of entry andorganizational form affect their behavior? This article summarizescurrent knowledge on these issues. Because the existing literaturefocuses heavily on developed economies, it also puts forth anagenda for further study of the causes and effects of foreignbank entry in developing economies.      

Omnichannel approach: Factors affecting consumer acceptance

Abstract

The omnichannel approach is a new commercial opportunity that aims to offer consumers a unique and satisfying experience through any touch point. This research aims to understand the factors that might lead consumers to accept and use this new approach. The conceptual model was tested empirically using primary data collected from 210 Portuguese participants. The results reported suggest that perceptions of usefulness, ease of use, and compatibility have a positive effect on brand experience, which strongly affects the behavioral intention to use. Additionally, a moderation analysis, using user status as a moderator, shows that while usefulness is important to uniquely explain use intention for low frequency, ease of use is only a good predictor of use intention for high-frequency users. This research provides useful insights for academic research by shedding light on this new phenomenon, and simultaneously for businesses by deriving some implications for defining their omnichannel strategies.     

SME growth in the service sector: A taxonomy combining life-cycle and resource-based theories

The approach to the life-cycle theory has been used as an analytical tool of the firms' growth. Several researchers argue that organisations move across several development stages where different problems are found resulting from different management styles and priorities, and resources. This research aims to develop an empirical taxonomy of small medium enterprise (SME) growth in the service sector based on life-cycle and resource-based theories. The data were submitted to bivariate and multivariate analyses to develop and test an empirical life-cycle model. It was possible to conclude that the firms could be clustered in three life-cycle stages. Some implications and future researches are addressed.     

The Amenity Value of English Nature: A Hedonic Price Approach

Using a hedonic property price approach, we estimate the amenity value associated with proximity to habitats, designated areas, domestic gardens and other natural amenities in England. There is a long tradition of studies looking at the effect of environmental amenities and disamenities on property prices. But, to our knowledge, this is the first nationwide study of the value of proximity to a large number of natural amenities in England. We analysed 1 million housing transactions over 1996–2008 and considered a large number of environmental characteristics. Results reveal that the effects of many of these environmental variables are highly statistically significant, and are quite large in economic magnitude. Gardens, green space and areas of water within the census ward all attract a considerable positive price premium. There is also a strong positive effect from freshwater and flood plain locations, broadleaved woodland, coniferous woodland and enclosed farmland. Increasing distance to natural amenities such as rivers, National Parks and National Trust sites is unambiguously associated with a fall in house prices. Our preferred regression specifications control for unobserved labour market and other geographical factors using Travel to Work Area fixed effects, and the estimates are fairly insensitive to changes in specification and sample. This provides some reassurance that the hedonic price results provide a useful representation of the values attached to proximity to environmental amenities in England. Overall, we conclude that the housing market in England reveals substantial amenity value attached to a number of habitats, designations, private gardens and local environmental amenities.