Women self-help groups and intra-household decision-making in agriculture

This study examines the effect of women-centric agricultural self-help groups (SHGs) on intra-household decision-making in agriculture. Using data collected from an intra-household survey of 815 households, we analyze the effect of women's membership in different types of SHGs on 14 decisions related to farms and households. Specifically, we investigate the discord in decision-making, which is the difference in the perceived decision-making roles of spouses within a household. Our results show that women's participation in SHGs has increased their role in decision-making by 8–13%. However, the effects vary according to the type of intervention and the decision. We found fewer discords in intra-household decision-making in seed SHGs than in micro-finance SHGs. In conclusion, our study suggests that women's engagement in agriculture-based SHG interventions can encourage joint decision-making, but the magnitude of this effect depends on the type of SHG. Development agencies can use this information to design interventions targeted at empowering women through the improvement of the agricultural value chain.     

A note on inventories and commercial paper yields

Winters [Winters, D. B. (October 2002) Commercial paper: A colossal market. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis-National Economic Trends, Cover Page], shows that the amount of non-financial commercial paper outstanding is positively correlated to the amount of total business inventory. In this paper, we extend his work by showing that total business inventory has a significant impact on the non-financial commercial paper yields. We use regression analysis for studying the relationship between inventories and their impact on the spread between commercial paper and Treasury bills. Our results have implications for money market arbitrage, monetary policy, working capital management for corporations and stock valuation.     

INTEREST RATE SENSITIVITY OF BANK STOCK RETURNS: SPECIFICATION EFFECTS AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES

In this paper the interest rate sensitivity of bank stock returns under alternative econometric specifications and the changes in the sensitivity over time are studied. Results indicate that the sensitivity depends on the econometric specification and the period considered. Bank stock returns show a sensitivity to long-term government security returns and innovations, but not to short-term government security returns and innovations except under one specification. Since 1980, banks seem to have reduced their interest rate risk exposure. Finally, while long-term returns are positively associated with stock returns, short-term returns show a positive association only since 1980.     

EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The synergistic effect of holistically addressing all of the variables highlighted by this article will result in organizations consistently reaching their intended destination. Skipping steps creates the illusion of speed, but rarely results in progress. While effective performance management is incredibly difficult, it is also critical to an organization's survival and prosperity. Systematically addressing these critical success factors will ensure consistency and success:

• 1 The starting point—A clear, objective understanding of current reality, as it is .
• 2 The destination—A clear point of view on where you want the organization to be, taking the current realities into account.
• 3 The path—A growth plan that will take you from the current reality to the intended destination.
• 4 Variation—A culture and system that expects variation, distinguishes between noise and signal, ignores the noise, and acts on the signals.
• 5 Agile Course Correction—A strong foundation that increases the number of course correction opportunities dramatically.
• 6 Alignment—Ensuring that everyone works towards the same destination.

The article uses a flight analogy to explain each of these critical variables.     

The increasing default risk of US Treasury securities due to the financial crisis

This paper examines the impact of the current financial crisis on long-term US Treasury yields by testing the impact of a series of events from December 2007 to March 2009 on the spread between 10-year USD LIBOR swap and 10-year US Treasury (constant maturity) rates to measure risk associated with Treasuries. Controlling for the liquidity of the two markets, the default risk of the swap, and the net foreign purchases of Treasury securities, we find that 13 of the tested 20 events have significantly negative coefficients. We conclude that the lower spread is consistent with greater default risk for US Treasury securities.     

Spillover effects of ingredient branded strategies on brand choice: A field study

Ingredient branding, or the use of two or more brand names on a single product, is widely seen as providing significant benefits in terms of increased product differentiation and greater market share. The association between two brand names can both enhance and dilute the brand equity of the host brand name and the ingredient brand name. This research examines the behavioral spillover effects associated with cobranded strategies across segments of consumers that vary in their prior brand commitment or loyalty. Different from previous research, this paper uses A.C. Nielsen scanner panel data to investigate the behavioral spillover effects of ingredient branded products on choice of the host and ingredient brands in a field setting. The results suggest that there is a significant behavioral spillover impact of trial of the cobranded product on the purchase probability of both the host and ingredient brands. This effect is greater among prior non-loyal users and prior non-users of the host and ingredient brands and when there is a higher degree of perceived fit between the host and ingredient brands.     

Understanding consumption and entrepreneurship in subsistence marketplaces

This article describes exploratory research on how consumers and small entrepreneurs navigate subsistence marketplaces, with particular emphasis on social networks, a central characteristic of these contexts. Existing studies have characterized subsistence contexts as 1-to-1 interactional marketplaces due to the prevalence of face-to-face interactions among consumers and sellers when evaluating products, making purchases, and operating small businesses. This research uses survey methods to study these networks, paying particular attention to how individuals interact within them, the kind of information being shared, their influence on purchase decisions and business decisions, and finally, their impact on the marketplace skills of subsistence consumers and entrepreneurs. Consideration of both consumers and entrepreneurs provides perspective on the role of social networks from both sides of the business transaction. The article also discusses implications for business research and practice.     

Occupational matching into science and technology jobs—gender‐based differences

Policy to remedy gender disparities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) occupations in the US have typically focused on educational achievements. However, an analysis of mid‐career STEM workers reveals that significant gender‐based differences exist in the role that education and other factors play in occupational matching.     

Product Development for the BoP: Insights on Concept and Prototype Development from University‐Based Student Projects in India

In recent years, market‐based approaches have been proposed for the base of the pyramid (BoP). However, the literature offers little theoretical or practical guidelines for innovative product development for what are radically new market contexts for most businesses in advanced economies. Considering that product development is a fundamental activity in a market economy, and that much BoP consumer welfare potentially arises from innovative and affordable goods and services that can solve critical life needs, this is a substantial gap in knowledge. This paper attempts to address this gap by using an analysis of 13 year‐long university projects on BoP‐focused concept and prototype development conducted between 2006 and 2010. An inventory of research propositions is developed that identifies factors necessary for effective product development for BoP markets. Implications for new product development research and practice are discussed.     

Is the enterprise software sector still in transition? A research note

Advances in information technology have not only promoted competition since the 1980s, but they also advanced globalization in the 1990s. The information technology group has lost its momentum since 2000. One of its vital segments was the enterprise software software sector. The sector’s products—such as ERP, CRM—have spurred the speed and efficiency of scores of U.S. companies and service firms in the past fifty months. In 2000, the majority of enterprise software firms incurred losses. Were one to assume that these innovative firms have a real contribution to augment client firms’ efficiency, the question of how to analyze their performance in the absence of positive net income becomes a Gordian knot. To unravel, we have employed selected non-income based measures as proxy criteria. We classify twenty-two firms into three subsets: Pre-1990 and post-1990 firms, full-line and partial-line firms, and large-capitalized and small-capitalized firms, and perform a comparative analysis on the basis of the proxy measures. While pointing to significant differences in productivity and perceived risks among these subsets, our findings allow us to speculate that, one, cottage-industry status of the sector has ended, and, two, new beginnings, in the post-September era of anxiety, will crystallize in the form of a consolidated industry comprising a few firms that possess the intrinsic value of leveraging their innovative capabilities.