Similarities and differences between stockpiling and reference effects

The correlation of past prices and demand is commonly attributed to reference effects. Although reference dependence is robust, support for loss aversion is mixed; some find demand more sensitive to price increases, consistent with loss aversion, others find no difference or greater sensitivity to price decreases. Stockpiling offers an explanation for these mixed findings. Combining theory, analytical models and simulations, stockpiling and reference dependence predict similar effects and the more stockable the product, the greater sensitivity of demand to price decreases, the opposite of loss aversion. We show that a model combining stockpiling and reference effects best aligns with previous findings and under what conditions each effect should dominate. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Potential of and constraints to the rice Green Revolution in Mozambique: A case study of the Chokwe irrigation scheme

This paper investigates the potential of and constraints to a lowland rice Green Revolution in Mozambique, using data from an agro-climatically favorable area, the Chokwe irrigation scheme. Our data show that, although the potential is high, the insufficient supply of irrigation water, excessively expensive chemical fertilizer, and moderately costly labor hinder the scheme from achieving that potential. First of all, an improvement in irrigation is crucial as it increases yield not only directly but also indirectly through its complementary relationship to chemical fertilizer. We also find that an improvement in credit access is important as it can increase the application of chemical fertilizer and labor by making the acquisition of these expensive inputs through markets possible. The unavailability of hired and exchange labor during peak seasons is another constraint to the intensive use of labor. The introduction of rice varieties with a shorter maturity duration would relax the timing of transplanting and thus spread out the peak seasons’ labor demand.     

The Relationship Between Supervisor Personality,Supervisors’ Perceived Stress and Workplace Bullying

This study investigated the relationship between supervisor personality and subordinate reports of exposure to bullying and harassment at work. Three research questions were examined: (a) Is there a direct relationship between supervisor personality and reports of workplace bullying? (b) Is there an interaction between supervisor personality and supervisors’ perceived stress as predictors of workplace bullying? (c) Will subordinates who experience bullying at their workplace rate their supervisor’s personality more negatively (negative halo effect)? The sample consisted of 207 supervisors and employees within 70 Norwegian restaurants. Supervisors low on conscientiousness, high on neuroticism and portraying high levels of exposure to stress were the subject of significantly more reports from subordinates of exposure to workplace bullying. An interaction between agreeableness and stress was found showing that agreeableness is related to bullying under low levels of stress. In addition, subordinates who perceived their supervisor as being low on agreeableness and high on introversion reported significantly more workplace bullying, supporting a negative halo effect hypothesis.     

Values,Authenticity, and Responsible Leadership

Of the many ethical corporate marketing practices, many firms use corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication to enhance their corporate image. Yet, consumers, overwhelmed by these more or less well-founded CSR claims, often have trouble identifying truly responsible firms. This confusion encourages ‘greenwashing’ and may make CSR initiatives less effective. On the basis of attribution theory, this study investigates the role of independent sustainability ratings on consumers’ responses to companies’ CSR communication. Experimental results indicate the negative effect of a poor sustainability rating for corporate brand evaluations in the case of CSR communication, because consumers infer less intrinsic motives by the brand. Sustainability ratings thus could act to deter ‘greenwashing’ and encourage virtuous firms to persevere in their CSR practices.     

Two Tests of Pricing Efficiency in the Rapeseed Futures Market

This paper assesses pricing efficiency in the rapeseed futures market. It reports the results of an updating of an earlier analysis, by Martin and Storey, which applies Gray' s simulation of long trading positions in futures market operations. A second test of the martingale hypothesis is also applied to rapeseed futures prices and to futures prices for soybeans, rapeseed' s major competitor. The results of simulated trading activities give some indication of price bias in the first decade of trading in rapeseed futures contracts but there is no evidence of bias in the second decade of trading. The test of the martingale hypothesis indicates that there may have been periodic instances suggestive of pricing inefficiency for the rapeseed futures contract in recent years, although such instances also characterize the more heavily traded United States Board of Trade soybean contract. Cet article évalue l' efficacité de la détermination des prix sur le marché a terme des graines de colza. II met à point une analyse précédente, par Martin et Storey, qui applique la simulation de Gray de positions longues dans les opérations sur le marché à terme. Un deuxième test de l' hypothèse martingale est appliqué aux prix à terme des graines de colza et aux prix à terme des graines de soya, le principal concurrent des graines de colza. Les résultats de la simulation des activités d' échange donnent quelques indications de partialité dans les prix pendant la première décennie d' échange de contrats à terme pour les graines de colza, mais il n' y a pas d' évidence de partialité pendant la deuxième décennie d' échange. Le test de l' hypothèse martingale démontre qu' il y a eu peut-être des cas périodiques pendant les années récentes qui semblent indiquer 1' inefficacité de la détermination des prix pour le contrat à terme des graines de colza, mais ces occasions caractérisent aussi le contrat des graines de soya du Board of Trade des Etats-Unis, dont le marché est plus actif.     

Can corporate governance save distressed firms from bankruptcy? An empirical analysis

We examine financially distressed firms and document how governance characteristics affect (1) a firm’s ability to avoid bankruptcy and (2) the power of financial/accounting information to predict bankruptcy. Overall, our findings indicate that a distressed firm’s governance characteristics significantly affect its probability of bankruptcy. We find that smaller and more independent boards with a higher ratio of non-inside directors and with larger ownership stakes of inside directors are more effective at avoiding bankruptcy once distress is indicated. These results are consistent with the belief that these types of governance structures induce more effective monitoring. The results are also consistent with the view that the inclusion of governance characteristics enhances the power of financial accounting models in predicting bankruptcy.

Relationship marketing effectiveness: The role of involvement

The term relationship marketing has been used to describe a wide range of marketing tactics. In this article, three dimensions that may be used to categorize these tactics are identified: personalization, individualization, and continuity. Research is presented demonstrating that the effectiveness of each type of tactic is influenced by buyer involvement in the product category, although the nature of this influence differs by country and gender. This suggests that managers contemplating relationship marketing programs should consider buyer involvement levels, and that researchers studying relationship marketing effectiveness should control for this variable. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.