Sabotage in Corporate Contests – An Experimental Analysis

In corporate contests, employees compete for a prize. Ideally, contests induce employees to exert productive effort which increases their probability of winning. In many environments, however, employees can also improve their own ranking position by harming their colleagues. Such negative incentive effects of corporate contests are largely unexplored, which can partly be attributed to the fact that sabotaging behavior is almost unobservable in the field. In this study we analyze behavior in experimental contests with heterogeneous players who are able to mutually sabotage each other. We find that sabotaging behavior systematically varies with the composition of different types of contestants. Moreover, if the saboteur’s identity is revealed sabotage decreases while retaliation motives prevail. Our results promise to be valuable when designing corporate contests.     

Stakeholder engagement in internet financial reporting: The diffusion of XBRL in the UK

Internet financial reporting is now widespread with most medium and large companies in the developed world providing a wide variety of financial data online. However, much of this information mirrors the paper versions of financial reports, often with little attempt to enhance the decision usability of the data, providing a so called ‘first generation’ of online reporting (ICAEW, 2004). eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) has been designed to provide a ‘second generation’ of online reporting, specifically to enhance the usability of the data. Documents rendered in XBRL are digitally-enabled so that it is easier for stakeholders to extract information directly into spreadsheets, or any other XBRL-enabled analysis software, without the need to re-key data thus providing significant improvements in information flows and enhancing inter-company comparability.XBRL consortia have spent more than 15 years promulgating the use of this technology within the business and government communities. However, despite their efforts XBRL has not become widely diffused, there is little stakeholder engagement and very few organisations have voluntarily adopted XBRL in practice.The results of a questionnaire survey in the UK indicate that awareness of XBRL, and second generation reporting more generally, resides in key champions but there is little diffusion outside this narrow set of stakeholders. Regulatory engagement seems to be the only impetus for diffusion and better channels of communication within stakeholder networks, such as between regulators, preparers, users and the XBRL community are needed. This paper suggests that currently the supply-push for XBRL is failing to produce effective use of this technology in the UK. Greater regulatory commitment is now needed to create an impetus for XBRL such as creating tools and making publicly available, accessible, repositories of XBRL data. Unless this happens, diffusion will not occur, and the demand-pull which is now needed will vanish and XBRL will fade and die.     

Use and knowledge of food labels of shoppers in a city with a high proportion of heart disease

This study aimed to assess consumers’ use and understanding of food labelling and the improvements that they would like. Systematically selected supermarket shoppers were interviewed using a questionnaire. Data showed that the use of food labels was low. Among those who read food labels, at least occasionally, use‐by‐date was the most reported information looked at. Understanding of the content of five nutrients on a standard food label provided was poor. Although a high proportion of participants claimed to have no problem with the current format, those who had problems wanted food labels that were ‘bigger’, ‘highlighted’ or written in ‘plain English’. These results suggest that before improved food labels can have an impact on consumers’ food choice, strategies to encourage shoppers to read them are needed.     

Enforcement of Environmental Law by Individuals and Interest Groups: Reconceptualizing Standing

The paper argues that environmental law can learn from consumer law as far as standing is concerned. Valuable guidance can be given to both individual and collective action. Consumer law rests on a well-founded concept of a double-track procedural system of complementary individual and collective enforcement that has undergone a considerable development over the years. With special reference to the European Court of Justice decision C-321/95 P (Greenpeace International and 18 Others v. Commission) of 2 April 1998, three arguments are put forward. Firstly, environmental law may learn from consumer law by adopting the EC approach to confer direct effect to secondary law. This empowers the individual with respect to environmental as well as participatory ends. Secondly, environmental law may espouse modern approaches with respect to the standing of associations. Thirdly, theories of judicial review need to be rethought, taking into account the new conflicts that emerge from EC integration.     

Impact of Mandatory Price Reporting Requirements on Level, Variability, and Elasticity Parameter Estimations for Retail Beef Prices

Moving to scanner based and quantity-weighted monthly average retail beef price series has changed the price series significantly. Quantity-weighted price levels are lower and more volatile. Perhaps most important, calculated elasticities for the quantity-weighted averages are lower than for the historical simple average data. Elasticity estimates for simple average monthly price data are also larger than for weekly data, raising the possibility that historic demand analyses have significantly overstated own price demand elasticities.     

Bedarf an Palliativpflege wächst

Ambulante Palliativversorgung - In erheblichem Umfang werden die Ressourcen der Gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung für die Versorgung schwerstkranker und sterbender Patienten ausgegeben. Aber oft nicht so, dass die erzielten Ergebnisse auf Zustimmung treffen. Vor diesem Hintergrund trat 2007 der gesetzlich verankerte Anspruch für alle gesetzlich Versicherten auf eine spezialisierte ambulante Palliativversorgung (SAPV) in Kraft.     

Antitrust Enforcement and Non-Enforcement as a Barrier to Import in the Japanese Automobile Industry

Foreign automobile manufacturers long have found it difficult to compete in the Japanese automobile market. For decades, governmentally imposed restraints prevented foreign manufacturers from gaining a foothold in the Japanese market. In recent decades, these governmental restrictions have been replaced by private restraints which create equally formidable barriers to entry. Many private restraints persist despite repeated informal investigations and administrative guidance by the Japan Fair trade Commission (JFTC). The endurance of these private restraints raises the question of what mechanisms may be available to make the Japanese automobile market more contestable. While vigorous and transparent enforcement of Japan's Antimonopoly Law by the JFTC is the preferred mechanism, other mechanisms for alleviating these private restraints include the extraterritorial enforcement of U.S. antitrust laws by U.S. antitrust enforcement authorities, mediation by the OECD or the enforcement of an international competition code in an international forum.     

Asymmetric capacity constraints and equilibrium price dispersion

Price dispersion arises despite perfect information about prices. In equilibrium the higher capacity firm adopts a high-price, high-availability strategy, the lower capacity firm adopts a low-price, low-availability strategy, and consumers are more likely to shop at the high-price firm.