Spatial price premium transmission for Meat Standards Australia‐graded cattle: the vulnerability of price premiums to outside shocks

Studies of market integration show that price changes are transmitted spatially through arbitrage. Transmission across differentiated agricultural products is important to investigate, but it has not been explored given its complexities for assessment. Using data from Australian cattle markets, we examine the dynamics of Meat Standards Australia price premium transmission between states. An impulse response function analysis using Bayesian vector autoregression with sign restriction identification shows that shocks to prices and price premiums are partially transmitted contemporaneously between markets and it takes several weeks to complete transmission. In addition, we find an asymmetry of price and price premium shocks originating in Southern Queensland that have an inverse immediate impact in New South Wales, and take months to transmit the usual price response. This outcome may be explained by differences in cattle availability in each state, which can be related to forage availability due to weather conditions. Based on these results, producers can forecast fluctuations on price premiums and adjust their cattle supply accordingly.     

Organizational creativity as a crucial resource for building international business competence

We aim to elucidate the roles that organizational creativity plays in the development of firms’ international business competence (IBC). We conducted an investigation grounded in the resource-based view of how this intangible resource supports the development of capabilities and competences. We surveyed 77 Brazilian audiovisual SMEs and analyzed our data using OLS regression analysis. The results partially support the hypothesis that organizational creativity is a building block for IBC but show that its effect is mostly exerted through the mediation of some of the dimensions of innovative and entrepreneurial capabilities. This study has implications both for organizations and public policies, contributing to the debate on how firms stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship and how public agents can leverage SMEs’ internationalization process.     

The Validity of Gibrat’s Law: Evidence from Ecuadorian Service SMEs

The objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between size and growth through the validation of Gibrat's law. A sample of 17,082 Ecuadorian companies in the service sector is used for the period 2010–2015. The estimation method used is that of quantile regression for panel data; the results suggest that small companies grow faster than their larger counterparts. The results show that the growth, measured through sales and employment, of SMEs in the service sector in Ecuador is not independent of firm size and therefore does not correspond to a random process.     

Seasonal protection of F&V imports in the EU: impacts of the entry price system

The measures of border protection applied by the European Union (EU) to imports of fruits and vegetables (FV) are complex and usually not well represented in trade models, not only because of the range of instruments still constraining trade, but also because of product differentiation and seasonality in these products. This article assesses the impact of eliminating entry price (EP) constraints applied to a group of FV products. The proposed model is of a partial equilibrium nature and takes seasonality into account. We have applied the model to imports of tomatoes, cucumbers, clementines, and table grapes. Trade impacts of eliminating EP are significant for particular origins, during specific seasons, most notably for Moroccan tomatoes. The volumes and prices of products originating in the EU experience moderate reductions.     

Can emerging market central banks bail out banks? A cautionary tale from Latin America

This paper investigates whether emerging market countries can implement monetary policies to cope with financial crises as advanced countries did during the recent global crisis—injecting significant amounts of money into the financial system without facing major short-run adverse macroeconomic repercussions. Using panel data techniques, the paper analyzes episodes of financial turmoil in 16 Latin American countries during 1995–2007. The results show that developing and emerging market countries should be cautious because injecting money on a large scale into the financial system may fuel further macroeconomic instability, increasing the chances of simultaneous currency crises.     

EXPO SHANGHAI, Really Impressive and Unforgettable for Me!

Time flies.At the moment last year,I was expecting the beginning of the World Expo Shanghai.Now one year has passed since the curtain of Expo Shanghai rose.During my stay in China,one of the most impressive things for me,I should say,is the Expo Shanghai. There were just so many things which impressed me.The Expo site was impressive for its size,all the facilities built,the magnificent and creative pavilions,the army of people and volunteers assisting the thousands of visitors, but perhaps the most impre...     

The Assessment of Information Technology Maturity in Emergency Response Organizations

In emergency response organizations, information technologies are not adequately explored. Sometimes, the mere adoption of new information technologies is not productive, as their efficient use depends on other interrelated technologies and the environment where they are installed. This work describes a model to help organizations understand their capability in respect to the adoption of these technologies. The model also helps the performing of the evaluation from different perspectives, making it suitable to collaborative evaluation. Using the proposed model, an organization can measure its maturity level in different aspects of the evaluation and guide the investment on its capabilities. Part of the model has been developed for emergency response organizations and the information technology dimension of the model has been applied to two fire department installations.     

The role of authenticity,experience quality,emotions, and satisfaction in a cultural heritage destination

ABSTRACT

Recent studies have shown the increasing importance of affective and subjective variables, such as experience quality, authenticity, and emotions in the formation of tourist satisfaction. This paper is a pioneer in jointly analysing the influence of authenticity in its double dimension, experience quality, and emotions variables on satisfaction in a cultural context. This study uses the structural equation modelling approach (Partial Least Square) and shows the direct and positive influence of objective and existential authenticity on the quality of the experience, as well as the direct and positive influence of the quality of experience on emotions. It is highly relevant to focus on both cognitive and affective dimensions of authenticity to improve the quality of the tourists’ experience. No previous studies in the literature examine the possible relationships between the different dimensions of authenticity on the quality of the experience and on emotions. The work reveals the importance of such variables in generating greater tourist satisfaction with the visited destination.     

Institutionalization of Ethics: The Perspective of Managers

Corporate America is institutionalizing ethics through a variety of structures, systems, and processes. This study sought to identify managerial perceptions regarding the institutionalization of ethics in organizations. Eighty-six corporate level marketing and human resource managers of American multi-national corporations responded to a mail survey regarding the various implicit and explicit ways by which corporations institutionalize ethics. The results revealed that managers found ethics to be good for the bottom line of the organizations, they did not perceive the need for additional formalization of ethics, and that they perceived implicit forms of institutionalizing ethics (e.g., leadership, corporate culture, top management support) to be more effective than the explicit forms of institutionalizing ethics (e.g., ethics ombudspeople, ethics committees, ethics newsletters). Implications of the survey and future research directions conclude the paper.