Mean and dispersion modelling for policy claims costs

A model for the statistical analysis of the total amount of insurance paid out on a policy is developed and applied. The model simultaneously deals with the number of claims (zero or more) and the amount of each claim. The number of claims is from a Poisson-based discrete distribution. Individual claim sizes are from a continuous right skewed distribution. The resulting distribution of total claim size is a mixed discrete-continuous model, with positive probability of a zero claim. The means and dispersions of the claim frequency and claim size distribution are modeled in terms of risk factors. The model is applied to a car insurance data set.     

Convergence and catching up in ASEAN: a comparative analysis

The increasing diversity of average growth rates and income levels across countries has generated a large literature on testing the income convergence hypothesis. Most countries in South-East Asia, particularly the five founding ASEAN member countries (ASEAN-5), have experienced substantial economic growth, with the pace of growth having varied substantially across countries. Recent empirical studies have found evidence of several convergence clubs, in which per capita incomes have converged for selected groupings of countries and regions. This paper applies different time series tests of convergence to determine if there is a convergence club for ASEAN-5, as well as ASEAN-5 and the USA. The catching up hypothesis states that the lagging country, with low initial income and productivity levels, will tend to grow more rapidly by copying the technology of the leader country, without having to bear the associated costs of research and development. Given the important effects of technological change on growth, this paper also examines whether ASEAN-5 is catching up technologically with the USA.     

The effect of patient's asymmetric information problem on elderly use of medical care

It has been proposed that the patient's relative ignorance about medicine, ‘asymmetry of information between doctor and patient’, should place a patient in a disadvantaged position when purchasing medical care. Even if rapidly developing information technologies can enhance the patient's access to health information, a patient doesn’t have enough ability to understand, interpret and evaluate it. So, the doctor's effort at sincerely helping patient understand and utilize health information by effective communication with patient might improve the patient's asymmetric information problem and affect the patient's use of medical care by way of its being a source of patient's solid trust on doctor. This research seeks to determine whether a doctor's effort, mentioned earlier can affect the elderly use of medical care. This study used data from a survey sample of people aged more than 65 living in Seoul and Chuncheon, Korea. The results suggest the doctor's effort level has a statistically significant positive effect on the elderly use of medical care, which suggest a doctor's effort of effectively communicating with patient would ameliorate patient's information problem and it could be a source of patient's trust on doctor, so this trust would lead a patient to consume more medical care.     

Implicit Leadership Theories of Bruneians

A leader's effectiveness is affected by the followers’ acceptance of the leader as their leader. Followers rely on their cognitive schema to judge whether someone deserves to be considered a leader. This cognitive schema is the implicit leadership theory (ILT) individuals have on the qualities of a leader. When leaders are perceived as conforming to this ILT, they are seen as leaders, and followers accept their influence attempt. This study examined the ILT of Bruneians. The findings indicate that Bruneians are associated with a distinct ILT and shows that gender and personality variables predict the variation in ILT.     

Non-audit fees, institutional monitoring, and audit quality

We posit that the effect of non-audit fees on audit quality is conditional on the extent of institutional monitoring. We suggest that institutional investors have incentives and the ability to monitor financial reporting quality. Because of the reputation concerns and potential litigation exposure, auditors are likely to provide high audit quality, when they also provide non-audit services to clients, particularly when clients are subject to high institutional monitoring. We find evidence that, as non-audit fees increase, audit quality (measured by performance-adjusted discretionary current accruals and earnings-response coefficients) reduces only for clients with low institutional ownership but not for clients with high institutional ownership. Our results are robust after controlling for auditor industry specialization, firms’ operating volatility, size effect, and potential endogeneity between institutional ownership and audit quality.     

Relative effects of store traffic and customer traffic flow on shopper spending

This article examines the relative effects of store traffic and customer traffic flow on shopper spending in a single study. An analysis of Croatian hypermarket survey data indicates that store traffic alone does not adequately explain shopper spending. Instead, gross customer traffic flow and realized customer traffic flow are stronger drivers of money spent. The article contributes to the retailing literature by clarifying the respective roles of store traffic and customer traffic flow. Recognizing the greater revenue-generating effect of in-store traffic flow, retailers should better design their store layout and merchandizing strategies to optimize traffic movement and boost store performance.     

Identifying key determinants for new product introductions and firm performance in small service firms

Small firms have gained increasing attention in the innovation literature. Focusing mainly on manufacturing based literature we identified several key factors that contribute to the innovative potential of small firms. However, we do not know if these factors are recognised and used in small service firms. Distinguishing various types of service industries, our goal with this paper is threefold. First, we describe to what extent service firms use the key factors to their advantage. Second, we try to establish if there is a relation between the key factors and new product introductions. Third, we want to see if new product introductions indeed contribute to firm performance. After a survey among 502 Dutch service firms, we reveal some major differences between various types of service industries.     

Consumers’ Perceived Value and Willingness to Purchase Organic Food

ABSTRACT

The demand for organic products has rapidly expanded worldwide in recent years. However, the organic market remains a niche market in most countries, and research in this area remains limited. Further investigation is necessary to better understand consumer perceptions about organic food and the circumstances in which they are willing to purchase organic food. Accordingly, the authors seek to understand the perceived value that consumers associate with organic food and the factors that impact their willingness to purchase organic food. This study is exploratory in nature and uses a qualitative approach through the use of in-depth interviews. Findings from the study suggest that consumers who perceive a positive value with regard to organic food are more willing to purchase organic food, in which health was the primary perceived benefit. For consumers who perceive a negative value with regard to organic food, they are less willing to purchase organic food. Many did not see any difference between organic food and nonorganic food. Instead, they viewed the prices of organic food as being expensive and argued that more efforts are needed on their part to source for organic food. Implications and recommendations from research findings are also presented.     

Toward a Comprehensive Framework of Study Abroad Intentions and Behaviors

Increased activity by U.S. students to study abroad has invited several studies that have investigated the reasons for U.S. students to study abroad. Literature in the context of study abroad choices has been fragmented, with each study presenting an ad-hoc set of factors the author/s deem as important or that have been shown to be important in previous literature. However, no study to date has attempted to identify a theoretical framework that explains why these factors should be important in explaining the intention to participate in a study abroad program. In this study, we use the theoretical background of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and trait theory to unify the existing body of literature and arrive at a model that predicts study abroad intentions. We test this model by means of a survey administered in a U.S. university.