The dynamics of social agreement according to Conceptual Agreement Theory

Many social phenomena can be viewed as processes in which individuals in social groups develop agreement (e.g., public opinion, the spreading of rumor, the formation of social and linguistic conventions). Conceptual Agreement Theory (CAT) models social agreement as a simplified communicational event in which an Observer \((O)\) and Actor \((A)\) exchange ideas about a concept \(C\) , and where \(O\) uses that information to infer whether \(A\) ’s conceptual state is the same as its own (i.e., to infer agreement). Agreement may be true (when \(O\) infers that \(A\) is thinking \(C\) and this is in fact the case, event \(a1\) ) or illusory (when \(O\) infers that \(A\) is thinking \(C\) and this is not the case, event \(a2\) ). In CAT, concepts that afford \(a1\) or \(a2\) become more salient in the minds of members of social groups. Results from an agent-based model (ABM) and probabilistic model that implement CAT show that, as our conceptual analyses suggested would be the case, the simulated social system selects concepts according to their usefulness to agents in promoting agreement among them (Experiment 1). Furthermore, the ABM exhibits more complex dynamics where similar minded agents cluster and are able to retain useful concepts even when a different group of agents discards them (Experiment 2). We discuss the relevance of CAT and the current findings for analyzing different social communication events, and suggest ways in which CAT could be put to empirical test.     

The relationship between managers' environmental perceptions,environmental management and firm performance in Spanish hotels: a whole framework

The examination of the possible direct link between environmental protection and firm performance has generally produced mixed results. This paper contributes to the literature by considering the antecedents of hotel managers' environmental attitudes to check whether perceptions of the external and internal factors are behind the adoption of a proactive environmental management. The study also tests whether or not the resource‐based view of the hotel mediates the positive relationships of proactive environmental management and improved environmental performance with competitive advantage and financial performance. This contribution is original because this study develops a comprehensive whole picture of this path process, which has previously only been partially discussed in the literature. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The determinants of pay settlements: the influence of the national context

This article studies the influence of national context and collective bargaining on the factors taken into account when adjusting wages. Using data from Spanish and British manufacturing establishments, we examine the relative importance of the cost of living, the ability to recruit or retain employees, the financial performance of the organisation and the industrial relations climate on wage adjustments of manual workers at the establishment level. Our findings show that there are significant differences on the importance given to these factors in both countries. In part, these are related to differences in the incidence of collective bargaining.     

Determinants of website traffic: the case of European fashion apparel retailers

The globalization process together with the extraordinary growth in the use of Internet offer firms new growth opportunities. Retail firms are using a multichannel approach, involving the Internet, in their internationalization strategies. Website traffic as measured by unique users and online awareness is among the measures for assessing the success of the online channel. There is little evidence, however, linking website traffic and the characteristics of the retail multichannel internationalization process. In order to fill this gap, this paper analyses the factors explaining the retailer's international website traffic. Website traffic data for a sample of European fashion apparel retailers are modelled as dependent on characteristics of the organization and of its physical and virtual internationalization strategy. Following the results of several linear regression models, we infer the complementarity of online and offline channels in the international operation, as well as the contribution of social networks as traffic generators.     

When Satisfied Consumers Do Not Return: Variety Seeking's Effect on Short‐ and Long‐Term Intentions

Even satisfied consumers frequently do not come back, which challenges loyalty theory and marketing practice. It is reasoned that variety‐seeking tendencies will significantly affect short‐term revisit intentions, whereas satisfaction and regret will mostly determine long‐term revisit intentions. Thus, the influence of satisfaction on loyalty is hypothesized to be critically dependent on the time perspective of the intentions, now or later, and variety seeking. A representative survey (N = 400) in eight Spanish cities supported these predictions. Multivariate moderated‐mediation analyses revealed that indeed the influence of satisfaction, regret, and variety seeking critically depends on the time perspective of the behavioral intentions.     

PERCS, DECS, AND OTHER MANDATORY CONVERTIBLES

From their beginnings in 1988, mandatory convertibles such as PERCS and DECS have grown to account for as much as 25% of a convertible market that experienced new issuance of $20 billion in 1996. Mandatory convertibles usually pay a higher dividend than the company's common stock (generally for a three-year period) and then require the holders to convert into common stock under terms that provide limited appreciation until conversion.
This article examines the rationale for mandatory convertibles from the point of view of issuers as well as investors. Like conventional convertibles securities, mandatory convertibles reduce the costs of the information asymmetry problem that confronts equity issuers. But, to a greater degree than ordinary convertibles, mandatory convertibles provide a solution to the financial restructuring problem faced by highly leveraged (and, in some cases, troubled) companies. They also enable growth companies to signal confidence about their future, particularly by including features such as guaranteed appreciation.
The last section of the article discusses the valuation of three varieties of mandatory convertibles: PERCS, DECS, and mandatory convertibles with a value guarantee. The valuation method builds on the insight that each of these securities can be decomposed into three basic components: (1) the underlying common stock; (2) the fixed-income cash flow promised investors; and (3) the option on the company's stock embedded in the security.     

On the direct and indirect real effects of credit supply shocks

We explore the real effects of bank-lending shocks and how they permeate the economy through buyer-supplier linkages. We combine administrative data on all Spanish firms with a matched bank-firm-loan dataset of all corporate loans from 2003 to 2013 to estimate firm-specific credit supply shocks for each year. We compute firm-specific measures of exposure to bank lending shocks of customers (upstream propagation) and suppliers (downstream propagation). Our findings suggest that credit supply shocks have sizable direct and downstream propagation effects on employment, investment, and output, especially during the 2008–2009 crisis, but no significant impact on employment during the expansion. We provide evidence that both trade credit extended by suppliers and price adjustments in general equilibrium explain downstream propagation of credit shocks.     

Not all group members are created equal: heterogeneous abilities in inter-group contests

Experimental Economics - Competition between groups is ubiquitous in social and economic life, and typically occurs between groups that are not created equal. Here we experimentally investigate the...     

Impact of cause-related marketing on consumer advocacy and cause participation: A causal model based on self-reports and eye-tracking measures

Cause-related marketing improves corporate image and consumer attitudes toward brands. An important research gap is how the visual attention paid to cause-related cues in social media affect consumer attitudes and behaviors. In the present study, we analyze the moderating role of the visual attention paid to Instagram-based, cause-related posts on the impact of consumer perceptions (i.e., corporate image), beliefs (trust), and attitudes (i.e., corporate social responsibility [CSR] support) on behavioral intentions (i.e., cause participation, consumer advocacy, and intention to share posts) for fast-food restaurants. Data for the study were collected in a between-subjects experiment with 123 participants. Visual attention was measured using eye-tracking technology, and consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions through an online survey. The results show that the greater the attention paid to images (amount and duration of fixations) and the more revisits made lead to more positive attitudes and behaviors toward the cause and the company. On the other hand, the more time spent looking at the company's responses to negative user-generated content weakens the relationship between trust and consumer advocacy toward the company. These results can help practitioners design appropriate cause-related marketing strategies in social media.