Corporate Social Responsibility and the Benefits of Employee Trust: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective

Research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has tended to focus on external stakeholders and outcomes, revealing little about internal effects that might also help explain CSR-firm performance linkages and the impact that corporate marketing strategies can have on internal stakeholders such as employees. The two studies (N = 1,116 and N = 2,422) presented in this article draw on theory from both corporate marketing and organizational behavior (OB) disciplines to test the general proposition that employee trust partially mediates the relationship between CSR and employee attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Both studies provide evidence in support of these general relationships. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in the context of CSR and corporate marketing research.     

An Exercise To Explore The Future Impact Of New Technologies

New technologies have the potential to drastically change the way people and firms conduct business. But the future is difficult to predict, and the inherent uncertainty of a new technology's impact can be troubling. This article describes an exercise that has participants evaluate a 1937 U.S. Government sponsored technology forecast. The forecast identified thirteen inventions that were predicted to have a significant impact on society during the subsequent 10–25 years. These inventions included the television, facsimile machine, mechanical cotton picker, and trailer homes, among others. Participants in the exercise are challenged to evaluate the accuracy of the 1937 forecast, and develop and understanding of the issues inherent in predicting the future impact of new technologies. They are then challenged to identify today's new technologies, and make predictions regarding these technologies' future impact. Today's new technologies may change important aspects of everyday life over the next few decades, and significantly influence the competitiveness of certain firms. The exercise illustrates how difficult it can be to anticipate the future impact of new technologies. New technologies take time to develop, and most forecasts are overly optimistic regarding the rate of development and adoption. New technologies can also develop in ways not anticipated, and a new technology may have uses that are difficult to foresee. These challenges notwithstanding, it is still important to regularly track new technologies and attempt to anticipate their potential impact. The greatest danger comes not from having inaccurate predictions of the future impact of new technologies, but from having not thought about the potential impacts. The exercise was developed for use in an executive MBA program to encourage participants to think beyond the budgets and deadlines that drive much of their regular work activity. It was designed to challenge them to reevaluate whether they, and their firm, were thinking about how new technologies might impact their industry. The exercise has the greatest impact and applicability when conducted at corporate programs or with Executive MBA students, but can be used in a typical MBA or MS program as well. It can be conducted in a three‐four hour session, or over multiple shorter sessions. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.     

Dating structural changes: An illustration from financial deregulation

Recent developments in econometrics emphasize the importance of testing for structural breaks in time series analysis. The typical event study of financial economics examines abnormal stock market returns around arbitrarily established dates. The paper has two objectives. The first aim is to present an application of the switching regression methodology to date structural changes in the return-generating function of financial firms. The second objective is to assess the effectiveness of the conventional event methodology in dating regime shifts associated with regulatory changes in the financial services industry. (JEL C52, G21)     

THE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF DEREGULATION ON SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS AND BANKS

The passage of the Garn-St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 was a legislative response to the plight of the thrift industry. The Act broadened the asset/liability powers of thrifts and granted regulators emergency authority to aid failing institutions. In this paper we analyze the effect of the Act on the market returns of large S&Ls and banks using a two-factor estimating procedure. Single-factor models of depository institutions' returns produce biased estimates and confound the Act's interpretation. Explicit treatment of the event/risk interaction is necessary to avoid ambiguities in the interpretation of the Act's effect on the returns of depository institutions. It is difficult to use capital market data to pinpoint the effect of information flows on complex regulatory changes.     

Liquidity-Based Competition for Order Flow

We present a microstructure model of competition for order flowbetween exchanges based on liquidity provision. We find thatneither a pure limit order market (PLM) nor a hybrid specialist/limitorder market (HM) structure is competition-proof. A PLM canalways be supported in equilibrium as the dominant market (i.e.,where the hybrid limit book is empty), but an HM can also besupported, for some market parameterizations, as the dominantmarket. We also show the possible coexistence of competing markets.Order preferencing—that is, decisions about where ordersare routed when investors are indifferent—is a key determinantof market viability. Welfare comparisons show that competitionbetween exchanges can increase as well as reduce the cost ofliquidity.     

Problems in the estimation and interpretation of the reliability of survey data

In this paper I discuss several of the difficulties involved in estimating the reliability of survey measurement. Reliability is defined on the basis of classical true-score theory, as the correlational consistency of multiple measures of the same construct, net of true change. This concept is presented within the framework of a theoretical discussion of the sources of error in survey data and the design requirements for separating response variation into components representing such response consistency and measurement errors. Discussion focuses on the potential sources of random and nonrandom errors, including “invalidity” of measurement, the term frequently used to refer to components of method variance. Problems with the estimation of these components are enumerated and discussed with respect to both cross-sectional and panel designs. Empirical examples are given of the estimation of the quantities of interest, which are the basis of a discussion of the interpretational difficulties encountered in reliability estimation. Data are drawn from the ISR's Quality of Life surveys, the National Election Studies and the NORC's General Social Surveys. The general conclusion is that both cross-sectional and panel estimates of measurement reliability are desirable, but for the purposes of isolating the random component of error, panel designs are probably the most advantageous.     

The Optimal Redemption Schedule of Serial Municipal Debt: A Dynamic Reconciliation of Revenues,Reinvestment Rates and the Term Structure

The purpose of our research is to developan algorithm that optimally schedules municipaldebt redemptions. It is our hypothesis thatsegmented investor demand, the existing termstructure, the temporal behavior of municipalproject revenues and reinvestment opportunitiesfor interim revenue surpluses are all factorswhich should impact the optimal debt schedulingproblem in a unique and economically meaningfulway. For example, investor preference for shortermaturities and an upward sloping term structureof interest rates should, ceteris paribus,increase the proportion of debt scheduled to berepaid early in the redemption horizon. Ifinvestor demand is limited to a relatively smallgeographic area, such limited demand should bereflected in higher yields. If municipal projectrevenues increase over time then a largerproportion of the debt should be scheduled to beredeemed later. Unfortunately, realisticacknowledgements of the nature of the municipaldebt financing problem create an objectivefunction and a set of constraints which are fartoo complex to yield simple reduced formpresentations of the optimal principalredemptions. Consequently, solutions to theoptimal debt schedule and tests of theconjectures articulated above weresimulated.     

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM AND MILITARY SECURITY IN THE PERSIAN GULF

Geologic estimates of remaining global petroleum resources place about 50% in the Persian Gulf. Production costs are estimated at $5 per barrel there and $15 per barrel in the North Sea and Alaska. According to mathematical results derived from depletion theory, the present value of economic rent from oil is on the order of $20 trillion. This article uses game theory to explain the $15–$20 per barrel price band that existed from 1986 to 1999. New economic forces have displaced this previously stable pattern; a new price range of $23–$30 is emerging. International trade in petroleum and conventional weapons are analyzed with econometric methods; the occurrence of nuclear weapons capability in the Persian Gulf region is explored.     

Benefits, consumerism and an "ownership society"

Compared to the generations preceding them, baby boomers assume more of both decision-making and financial responsibility for their health care and retirement. This article reviews the changing health and retirement plan landscape, and describes the plans, products and features available to the baby boom generation. It then describes how employers can become educators in order to help boomers best manage their increased responsibility for their health care and retirement.