UK SMEs’ motives for internationalizing: Differences between firms employing particular overseas market servicing strategies

A body of research exists in the area of international entrepreneurship and a number of motives for internationalizing have been identified. However, once firms commence exporting, mixed results have been found in respect of the most appropriate market servicing strategy. This paper reports on findings from a survey of UK small to medium enterprises investigating their motives for internationalizing. Multivariate quantitative analysis of survey data and subsequent findings from interviews indicate that differences exist between two groups of firms, that is, those that employ as a strategy an approach that concentrates on key overseas markets compared with those that spread their efforts over a number of markets. However, perhaps more important is the finding that managers’ commitment to overseas activities has a strong influence over and above the strategy employed and this change over time is likely to affect the market servicing strategy employed.     

IT'S ABOUT TIME: EFFECTS OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT DEPENDENT COVERAGE MANDATE ON TIME USE

We examine how the Affordable Care Act's dependent coverage mandate (DCM) affected young adults' time allocation. Exploiting more accurate measures from the American Time Use Surveys, we find that the DCM reduced labor supply. The question then arises, what have these adults done with the extra time? Estimates suggest a reduction in job‐lock, as well as in the duration of the average doctor's visit, including time spent waiting and receiving care. The latter effect is consistent with substitution from emergency‐department utilization toward more routine care. Estimates suggest that the extra time has gone into socializing, and into educational and job‐search activities. (JEL I1, J2, H0)     

Overcoming the Fear Factor: Workforce Involvement and Health and Safety Offshore

Despite recent campaigns to present the UK oil and gas industry as one with an ever-improving safety record, there is overwhelming evidence that there hasactually been little or no improvement. The data presented in this article show the degree to which victimization and intimidation of the workforce on offshoreplatforms acts to prevent an open and constructive approach to safety management. A number of particular problems in relation to workforce involvement and the safety representatives and committee system are identified. The article concludes by placing these empirical findings within a policy context.     

The Wage Premium for Job Seniority During the 1980s and Early 1990s

In this article I use Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data to study whether the rewards for job tenure have fallen since the early 1980s. An upward-sloping seniority-wage profile is generally thought to be an important dimension of compensation during a career. However, recent interest in the incidence of layoffs and changes in the structure of firms gives rise to the possibility that employment contracts are less often being structured to reward tenure or that such contracts are more difficult to honor. Using a two-stage estimator to attempt to control unmeasured individual and job match effects on wages, I find some evidence that the wage premium paid to senior workers has declined moderately. However, I find that these results are mildly sensitive to alternative methods of handling the relatively noisy PSID tenure data.     

Non-buoyant puff and plume dispersion modeling issues

This workshop was organized as a discussion group for a panel of dispersion modeling experts aimed at identifying and resolving (to whatever extent possible) the major debatable issues involved in the appropriate application and interpretation of dense gas dispersion models to real and potential scenarios.