Weather Studies in Outdoor Recreation and Nature-Based Tourism: A Research Synthesis and Gap Analysis

ABSTRACT

The impact of weather on outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism has received increasing attention from the research community during the past ten years. This article synthesizes the results of those inquiries, categorizing their predominant themes and identifying knowledge gaps. One hundred eighty-four weather-related articles drawn from a cross-section of international journals served as the foundation for this work. The research synthesis identified three recurring themes: weather-related variables that influence outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism, the importance of geographic research context, and prevailing activity types. A gap analysis indicated an abundance of underinvestigated topics in weather-related studies in outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism. The article concludes with recommendations for future weather-related studies in outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism developed from the predominant themes uncovered in the research synthesis and research needs discovered in the gap analysis.     

Consumer preferences for organic production methods and origin promotions on ornamental plants: evidence from eye‐tracking experiments

The strategic value of organic production and origin promotions may vary based on product end‐use. Conjoint analysis and eye‐tracking technology were used to investigate consumers’ purchase likelihood (PL) and visual search behavior for esthetic and food‐producing ornamental plants. Organic production methods, in‐state, and domestic origins positively impacted participants’ PL. Respondents’ visual attention to the organic production attribute had a strong positive effect on PL for food‐producing plants as did sociodemographic variables. Findings imply that producers and retailers could successfully implement signage emphasizing organic production methods and origin designations to generate consumer interest.     

Financing choice and local economic growth: evidence from Brazil

Journal of Economic Growth - We study how financing non-traditional local activities, conceived here as a proxy for activity diversification, is associated with economic growth. We use...     

THE DETERMINANTS OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM: A SURVEY

A large literature has found positive associations between economic freedom and income, growth, and a variety of other desirable outcomes. This paper surveys the literature that seeks to explain the causes of economic freedom. Some of the most consistent findings in this literature are that current levels of economic freedom are strongly correlated with past levels; freer countries have more difficulty continuing to improve their economic freedom; democracy and political freedom are positively associated with economic freedom; and inequality is negatively related. (JEL E02, E14, O17, O43, P1)     

Does enterprise software matter for service innovation? Standardization versus customization

This paper analyzes the relationship between service innovation and different types of enterprise software systems, i.e. standardized enterprise software designed to fit one certain business sector and enterprise software specifically customized for a single firm. Using recent firm-level data of a survey among information and communication technology service providers as well as knowledge-intensive service providers in Germany, this is the first paper which empirically analyzes whether the use of sector specific or customized enterprise software triggers innovation. The results based on a knowledge production function suggest that customized enterprise software is related to the occurrence of service innovation. However, there is no relationship between sector specific enterprise software and innovation activity. The results stay robust to several different specifications and suggest that the causality runs from customized software usage to service innovation.     

Ownership Concentration,Institutional Development and Firm Performance in Central and Eastern Europe

This paper analyzes the relationship of ownership concentration and firm performance in the context of different institutional environments in 28 Central and Eastern European transition economies. We focus on private, non‐listed firms that have been largely neglected by the extant literature. Using the BEEPS data for the period from 2002 to 2009 we find an inverted u‐shaped relation of ownership concentration and firm performance for those firms that operate in non‐EU‐member countries as well as those firms that are situated in less developed institutional systems. We interpret these findings as evidence for a classic agency problem in the lower part of the ownership concentration distribution that is dominated by a ‘private benefits of control’ problem with rising ownership concentration. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Narrating the Power of Non‐Standard Employment: The Case of the Israeli Public Sector*

abstract Applying a critical discourse analysis approach, this study shows how the argument equating non‐standard employment (NSE) with organizational efficiency gains dominance over the contesting argument that views NSE as reducing organizational efficiency. We interviewed 24 senior‐level HR managers in the Israeli public sector, where NSE is used extensively, in order to shed light on the discursive order and the power struggle between these contesting arguments. Findings point to two story‐lines that helped discredit the argument in which NSE reduces organizational efficiency: (1) a statement of loyalty to organizational efficiency, accompanied by a gesture of concern for employees in non‐standard arrangements; and (2) subordinating an implied preference for eliminating NSE to organizational constraints.     

The Residency Discount for Rents in Germany and the Tenancy Law Reform Act 2001: Evidence from Quantile Regressions

Most countries show a residency discount in rents for sitting tenants. In the wake of strong rent increases and housing shortages, Germany implemented a reform in 2001 to curtail rent increases. Based on linked housing‐tenant data for Germany, this paper estimates panel OLS and quantile regressions of rents within tenancies. The results show that rents deflated by the CPI increase strongly from 1984 until the reform in 2001, and there is a reversal in the trend afterwards. Before the reform, there is a significant residence discount which decreases in absolute value with tenure. The reform reduces rents, in particular for expensive apartments and for new leases. There is no residency discount after the reform.     

Trade Liberalisation and Capital Spending by US Manufacturers

This is the first paper to study the impact of long‐term tariff reductions on capital spending by US manufacturers. We investigate fluctuations in investment for approximately 400 different four‐digit industries during the period 1974–2005. Our results indicate that the dismantling of tariff and quota protection has had a stimulatory effect on US manufacturing investment, despite the relatively low average tariff rate that existed at the start of our sample period. However, our findings reveal that reductions in input tariffs rather than output tariffs were the source of this effect, suggesting that better access to foreign inputs rather than increased foreign competition at the output level served as the primary stimulus for increased US manufacturing investment.