R&D profitability: the role of risk and Knightian uncertainty

This paper provides the first empirical attempt of linking firms’ profits and investment in R&D revisiting Knight’s (Risk, uncertainty and profit, Hart, Schaffner & Marx, Boston, 1921) distinction between uncertainty and risk. Along with the risky profit-maximising scenario, identifying a second, off-setting, unpredictable bias that leads to heterogeneous returns to R&D investments is crucial to fully understand the drivers of corporate profits. Consistently with the Knightian theory that relates risk to profitability, we model the impact of risk and uncertainty on profits and provide a first empirical attempt to model the effect of ambiguity, a particular type of uncertainty, on R&D returns.     

从化解高储蓄的角度谈消费的扩大--参加"首届中国经济论坛"有感

本文根据扩展的线性支出系统ELES计算得到,城镇居民储蓄倾向呈现逐步增强的趋势。引起居民储蓄倾向提高的原因包括:居民预防性储蓄动机增强、财富向高收入阶层聚集、财产性等收入占可支配收入的比例低、住房等消费品价格过高等。本文认为应该通过多种措施化解高储蓄,促进消费并带动经济和社会的和谐发展。一是要提高贫困线并增加对低收入者的转移支付;二是要提高社会保障水平;三是要培育教育和文化等消费热点;四是要抑制医疗和住房等价格的过快增长。     

Using a dual system of reasoning in small businesses: Entrepreneurial decisions and subjective risk intelligence

This study aims at introducing subjective risk intelligence (SRI) in the context of small businesses to analyze how both rationality and intuition may influence the entrepreneurial decision-making process, particularly in affecting firms’ financial equilibrium.

SRI aggregates four dimensions: two positive attitudes (imaginative capability and problem-solving self-efficacy) and two detrimental ones (emotional stress vulnerability and negative attitude towards uncertainty). In particular, we argue that imaginative capability and emotional stress vulnerability refer to Kahneman’s System 1 (the intuitive), while problem-solving self-efficacy and negative attitude towards uncertainty appertain to System 2 (the rational).

We conducted an empirical investigation collecting data from an ad hoc survey administered to owners and managers of small businesses and their balance sheets over 2013–2017. After testing the proposed constructs’ reliability, we tested the influence that both Systems 1 and 2 have on SMEs’ financial structure through a pooled OLS regression estimator.

Results show that the intuitive and the rational components of risk intelligence affect entrepreneurs’ decision-making differently. The rational component seems to stimulate the entrepreneurial orientation to risk tolerance. The intuitive component limits the entrepreneurial propensity to take financial risks due to the desire for stability attached to this cognitive process. Accordingly, we highlight the importance of enhancing a balance between the two systems of thinking. Practical implications suggest that entrepreneurs with a dominant attitude towards problem-solving self-efficacy, or a positive attitude towards uncertainty, should invest in developing imaginative capabilities or emotional control, and vice versa.

     

Environmental,Social and Governance investing: Does rating matter?

In the last decade, the demand for sustainable and social investments has improved. The mutual funds industry has responded to market needs by offering a number of investment products focused on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) companies. The aim of this article is to understand if an ESG score can actually be considered a valid criterion that portfolio managers could adopt, along with traditional risk–return optimisation, in selecting asset portfolios. The paper analyses the link between the performance and the ESG score of different sectoral portfolios (one for each sector of the Global Industry Classification Standard), entirely composed of ESG assets, in the search for a clear and strong positive correlation that could suggest an overall advantage to focus on an ex ante choice of assets with high ESG scores.     

Equality of opportunity and the expansion of higher education in the UK

Using nine waves of data from Understanding Society (UKHLS), we study the expansion of higher education in the UK and its consequences for levels of and inequalities in income, physical and mental health. University expansion was characterized by a large increase in the proportion of graduates, with higher rates of graduation among individuals from more advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Having controlled for birth cohort and lifecycle effects, there is evidence of significant inequality of opportunity (IOp) in the actual outcomes. However, comparing actual outcomes with counterfactual projections, that freeze the likelihood of university graduation and the joint distribution of graduation and circumstances to the pre-1963 levels, we do not detect an impact of the expansion of higher education on IOp in income and only small reductions in IOp in physical and mental health.     

The rhythm of effective entrepreneurs’ decision-making process. The pathways of alertness scanning and search and cognitive style. A mediation model

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - How can entrepreneurs be effective when making decisions? To enrich current research on entrepreneurship and cognition, the present study...     

Managers' compassionate goals,innovation, and firm performance: an examination of mediating processes,and boundary conditions in small- and medium-sized enterprises

This study aims to examine the relationships of managers' compassionate goals with innovation and performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By integrating social exchange theory with social information processing theory, we hypothesize a serial mediation model in which organizational cooperation and firm innovation sequentially mediate a positive relationship between managers' compassionate goals and firm performance. However, we predict that this positive indirect effect would occur only when managers have low self-image goals and there is a high innovation-supportive work environment. Based on survey data from a sample of 116 SMEs in France, our results provide support for our predictions. This study contributes to the literature by disclosing the mechanisms and boundary conditions of the relationship of managers' compassionate goals with SMEs' innovation and performance. Theoretical and managerial implications of this study are discussed.     

Government ideology and international migration*

We provide the first empirical evidence that government ideology affects the choice of migration destinations. As ruling political parties differ in their discourse, policies, and positions on migration, the ideology differential between the host and home country governments can shape the relative generosity of the welfare system, the degree of tolerance towards out-groups, and the restrictiveness of migration policies, all acting as important drivers of international migration. Using data on bilateral migration and government ideology for OECD countries between 1990 and 2016, we show that migration flows increase when the government at the destination becomes more left-wing relative to the government at the origin, particularly when both countries are members of the European Economic Area.     

Heart rate variability in marketing research: A systematic review and methodological perspectives

Heart rate variability is a promising physiological measurement that accesses psychophysiological variations in response to a marketing stimulus. While its application spans diverse fields, there is a limited understanding of the usability and interpretation of heart rate variability in marketing research. Therefore, this hybrid literature review provides an overview of the emerging use of heart rate variability in marketing research, along with essential methodological considerations. In this context, we blend marketing mix framework with stimulus-organism-response theory, segregating the use of heart rate variability in various marketing research contexts. We follow the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) framework to reflect on 33 records obtained from six databases. Our findings suggest that 42% of studies used heart rate variability to investigate promotion-related topics. Overall, heart rate variability is mostly used in combination with Galvanic skin response (48%). Further, 39% of studies used non-portable systems for data collection. Last, using the theory characteristics methodology (TCM) framework, we identified six research avenues: (1) affective, cognitive, and sensorial constructs; (2) personality, thinking style, and demographics; (3) product experience; (4) advertising and branding; (5) correlation with immersive technologies; and (6) triangulation with other neurophysiological tools.