Modelling price transmission and volatility spillover in the Slovenian wheat market

Interdependence between first and second moments of producer and consumer wheat prices in Slovenia is assessed, in light of the recent major historical events that the country has undergone, as well as the recent rumours of cartel agreements between millers causing a decline in farm-gate prices, while leaving consumer prices untouched. A threshold vector error correction and multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity model with exogenous variables is applied. Results indicate that price-level adjustments mainly favour retailers by increasing their marketing margins. Important second-moment interactions are also identified. Increases in international wheat stocks reduce producer prices, while higher interest rates increase their instability.     

Shareholder wealth responses to European legislation on bank executive compensation

This paper uses an event study approach to investigate the shareholder wealth responses to European legislation on bank executive compensation. Using a sample of 124 banks over 2009–2010 and over 20 legislative and related events, we find that in early stages bank shareholders react positively to broad discussion at the EU level on executive pay. When plans to regulate the pay process are considered, however, this results in a negative stockholder reaction. We also find that large bank shareholders are most affected by remuneration policy.     

Effects of Employees' Uniform on Company Image and Employees' Self-perceptions and Customers' Perceptions

The purpose of the study is to investigate how different styles of employee uniforms affect customers' perceptions of the hotel image and employees' self-perceptions. The results of the study indicated a significant relationship between uniforms and employees' job performance. Significance also existed between employees' job satisfaction and styles of uniform. A significant relationship between styles of uniform and customers' perception of employee performance was found as well.     

Knowledge Transfer in Hotel Firms: Determinants of Success in International Expansion

This study analyzes the determinants of knowledge transfer success in the international expansion of hotel firms. First, international growth strategies, followed by hospitality firms and their relationship to knowledge transfer, are discussed. Next, we address the determinants of knowledge transfer success in international expansion by discussing the relevance of the topic and potential barriers that may lead to failures. This leads to the presentation of four research hypotheses. The hypotheses are then empirically tested from the international expansion of Spanish hotel chains. The results demonstrate the influence of the absorptive capacity, the cultural aspects, and the motivation of the knowledge sources.     

The influence of perceived risk on Internet shopping behavior: a multidimensional perspective

The present study analyzes the influence that perceived risk in online shopping has on the process of e‐commerce adoption by end consumers. With this aim, the Technology Acceptance Model is taken as a reference framework, proposing an Extended E‐Commerce Acceptance Model that includes the diverse constructs of perceived risk: financial, performance, social, time, psychological and privacy. Empirical evidence is obtained from two samples, one is composed by Internet users with no experience in web shopping and the other is formed by online buyers. The results obtained confirm that the intention to shop through the Internet is positively influenced by general attitude toward the system and negatively influenced by the risk associated with the Web. Regarding the importance of the risk dimensions considered in the study, the economic and performance facets are the ones that have a greater influence on e‐commerce adoption, while social and time dimensions are the less relevant.     

The effects of education on spouses’ satisfaction in Europe

This article identifies the effects of both own and spouses' education levels on individual economic satisfaction for European households. To that end, it estimates several specifications based on the family collective approach, for each of the 14 EU countries, by using the eight waves of the European Community Household Panel, 1994–2001. After demonstrating that the IV Hausman–Taylor procedure is the selected estimation method in the majority of cases, the empirical results show that male and female income satisfaction significantly increases when the husband achieves higher education qualifications in the majority of European countries. However, the positive effect of the wife's higher education on female income satisfaction only appears in a very limited number of countries. Additionally, increases in individual wage and nonwage incomes generally lead to higher satisfaction levels.     

Assessment of innovative software technology: developing an end-user-initiated interface design strategy

Knowledge intensive services and, in particular, R&D services contribute significantly to innovation in firms. The objective of this paper is to find out which characteristics of firms explain the acquisition of R&D services and to analyse whether there are differences depending on the typology of the supplier (universities, technology centres and consulting firms). Three main conclusions emerge from the econometric estimations carried out with information from a survey of innovative firms in the region of Valencia in Spain. First, the results show that firm size and age matter in the decision to buy R&D services. Second, our results are consistent with the relevance that the literature gives to human capital in absorbing external knowledge. Third, innovation policy has a significant influence on the decision to acquire R&D services, particularly from universities and technology centres.     

Boards,Executive Excess Compensation,and Shared Power: Evidence from Nonprofit Firms

We investigate how executives, the board, and excess compensation jointly affect the performance of nonprofits. Since the common measure of nonprofit performance often includes salaries, we also use expenses that directly benefit the targeted population. Our results suggest that above average compensation for executives is associated with poor firm performance. However, the negative relation of CEO pay to performance occurs for firms with only one executive, the CEO. We conclude that a powerful CEO with autonomy can harm firm performance, but other executives can mitigate these agency problems. The board also appears to monitor direct community benefits more than indirect benefits.     

Patterns of consumer response to retail price differentials

Decomposing price elasticity suggests that the major impact of promotions is on brand switching rather than increased consumption. Consumers may also buy smaller quantities of more expensive brands when compared to cheaper ones (inter-brand elasticity). Using panel data for the purchases of 80 consumers buying nine product categories over a 16-week period, we verified that inter-brand elasticities occur, and report the relative importance of intra- and inter-brand elasticities in determining quantity price elasticity per shopping occasion for the product category. Brands were classified by informational (socially mediated) and utilitarian (product-mediated) benefits. Intra-brand elasticity was higher than utilitarian inter-brand elasticity, which was higher than informational inter-brand elasticity.     

The influence of human resource management in savings bank performance

The aim of this article was to analyse the value of human resources (HR) for competitive advantage and their influence on the firm's performance in the service industry. To achieve our goal, we have first proposed a resource-based framework to discuss the circumstances under which human resources can be a source of competitive advantage. Then, an empirical research was developed in the Spanish savings bank sector to analyse the relationship between HR management and the firm's performance. Our results, suggest that those savings banks which better combine their HR practices to create and to develop a strategic human capital pool have shown better levels of profitability and productivity.