Forecasting spatially dependent origin and destination commodity flows

We explore origin–destination forecasting of commodity flows between 15 Spanish regions, using data covering the period from 1995 to 2004. The 1-year-ahead forecasts are based on a recently introduced spatial autoregressive variant of the traditional gravity model. Gravity (or spatial interaction models) attempt to explain variation in \(N = n^2\) flows between \(n\) origin and destination regions that reflect a vector arising from an \(n\) by \(n\) flow matrix. The spatial autoregressive variant of the gravity model used here takes into account spatial dependence between flows from regions neighboring both the origin and destinations during estimation and forecasting. One-year-ahead forecast accuracy of non-spatial and spatial models are compared.     

Press release disclosures in Spain and the UK

Despite acknowledging the importance of different types of press releases in the accounting literature, researchers have conducted little systematic empirical research on this topic. To address this issue the present study examines the antecedents of a firm's decision to issue an Annual Results Press Releases (ARPRs) in a cross-national context, using Spain and the UK. The study investigates for the first time the relationship among ARPRs, earnings performance, the existence of an investor relations department (IRD), company size, and ownership concentration. Using a sample of 246 publicly traded Spanish and UK companies, this article shows that the two countries have significant differences in the disclosure of press releases. Moreover, size and the existence of an IRD were found to have a significant and direct effect on the disclosure of press releases. Finally, the results also indicate that ownership structure and company size play an important role as moderators to explain the effect on disclosure of press releases. Implications of these findings along with limitations and directions for further research are discussed.     

How Important Are CEOs to CSR Practices? An Analysis of the Mediating Effect of the Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility

Drawing on the Agency–Stewardship approach, which suggests that manager profile may range from the agent model to the steward model, this article aims to examine how important CEOs are to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Specifically, this exploratory study proposes the existence of a relationship between manager profile and CSR practices and that this relation is mediated by the perceived role of ethics and social responsibility. After applying a mediated regression analysis using survey information collected from 149 CEOs in Spain, results show that those closer to the steward model are more inclined to attach great importance to ethics and social responsibility, and to implement CSR practices in their companies. Results also provide support for the suggested mediating effect. Thus, this article extends research in understanding top managers as drivers for CSR and suggests new ways to deal with this issue empirically.     

Tourist stereotypes and servers’ attitudes: a combined theoretical approach

Local attitudes towards tourism comprise one of the most researched topics in tourism. However, researchers still need to examine attitudes of specific local groups, acknowledge tourist stereotypes as an influential factor and test different theoretical approaches, to develop a broader understanding and explanation of attitudes. Based on an emic perspective, this study analysed servers’ stereotypes of a specific group of tourists – locally known as chilangos – and associated attitudes in a Mexican resort. By adopting a combined theoretical approach drawn from social exchange theory and integrated threat theory, this study’s results reveal that individuals who depend economically on tourism do not always have positive attitudes and that negative stereotypes on their own are not the strongest predictors of attitudes. By combining both theories’ postulations, the findings show that perceived economic benefits and personal positive contact together account for positive attitudes but that these factors are significantly counterbalanced by negative tourist stereotypes. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Segmented stochastic convergence across the G-7 countries

This paper analyzes the stochastic convergence in per capita income levels among the current G-7 over the period 1900–89. We show that, in the presence of possible structural breaks, the strong condition of stationary pair-wise differences between per capita GDP holds in more cases than previously supposed. However, convergence occurs more frequently in the first part of the time sample than in the second one. First version received: June 1999 / Final version accepted: Feb. 2000