Using Ostrom's common-pool resource theory to build toward an integrated ecosystem-based sustainable cetacean tourism system in Hawai`i

This paper explores the suitability of community-based conservation measures to complement a proposed command-and-control approach for two multi-user bays with spinner dolphins in Hawai`i, USA, which have considerable dolphin watching tourist activities and human–dolphin interactions. The paper uses Ostrom's common-pool resource theory as an analytical lens, with an assessment of the attributes of the resource and the user(s) to explore questions of governance and sustainability. In Hawai`i, spinner dolphins move predictably from offshore overnight feeding grounds into shallow bays for daytime rest, interacting frequently with humans using these bays for tourism and other social, recreational, and subsistence purposes. To reduce the current negative interactions with dolphins, managers are seeking to implement a command-and-control approach, namely time–area closures. Our analysis indicates that viewing the bay as a resource with tourism as one of many human demands, instead of specifically focusing on dolphins, reflects an ecosystem-based approach and acknowledges complex management demands. We found that while unrealistic to expect community-based conservation to spontaneously emerge here, cultivating some of Ostrom's attributes among stakeholders might lead to a more productive set of institutional arrangements that would benefit the dolphin population, with the methodology used potentially leading to a global management model.     

Exchange rates,and fundamental variables: a semi-parametric analysis of binary choice

This study is motivated by the dearth of models that provide good out-of-sample fit for exchange rates. That is, current models of exchange rate behaviour are poor predictors of subsequent currency movements. An attempt is made to determine if the relationship between exchange rates and fundamental variables can help explain the more extreme exchange rate movements (distributional switches). Models are developed that relate fundamental economic variables to the resulting estimates based on the mixture of normal probability distributions. Parametric estimation procedures (Logit and Probit) are compared with a semi-parametric technique, maximum score estimation (MSCORE), which is relatively untested in the field of finance. The fundamental variables of these models include information on trade balances, money supply changes, interest rate changes, real economic growth, relative inflation rates and changes in stock market indexes. Classification results favour MSCORE. Implications of results and improvements in methodology are discussed.     

A framework of Corporate Social Responsibility for advertising accountability: The case of Australian government advertising campaign

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a dominant theme guiding business practice. Governments have embraced this philosophy and legislated to encourage socially responsible business practice in its many forms. While governments' endorsement of CSR practice is expressed in policy, the successful integration into its own practice is not evidenced in the literature. Using a case research method, this paper analyses the nature of Australian government advertising processes, developing a modified framework founded on Wood's (1991 Wood, D. 1991. Corporate Social Performance revisited.. Academy of Management Review, 16(4): 691–718. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Corporate Social Performance model and Maignan and Ferrell's (2004 Maignan, I. and Ferrell, O. 2004. Corporate Social Responsibility and marketing: An integrative framework.. Academy of Marketing Science, 32: 1 [Google Scholar]) CSR principles. This research is important because it provides an application model for CSR practice and provides government with a decision‐making vehicle for CSR.     

Aggression and Bullying in the Workplace: It’s the Position of the Perpetrator that Influences Employees’ Reactions and Sanctioning Ratings

While research has identified the causes and consequences of workplace aggression and bullying, little research has examined the factors that shape employee responses to aggression and bullying. In the present paper two studies are conducted in a healthcare setting to determine the factors that shape perceptions of aggression and bullying and how those perceptions subsequently influence employee reactions and sanctioning ratings. Empowerment, well-being, and communication satisfaction are examined to determine their moderating influence on reactions and sanctioning ratings to the incidents of aggression and bullying. The findings indicate that perpetrator type influences perceptions of aggression, that employees address incidents of aggression differently than incidents of bullying, and that empowerment and well-being moderate the relationship between perceptions of aggression and bullying and the subsequent reactions and sanctioning recommendations employees make.     

Challenges for civil society involvement in civic entrepreneurship: a case study of local enterprise partnerships

Civic entrepreneurship involves engagement between the state, business and civil society to produce economic growth for the public good. In the UK context a key initiative to encourage such engagement has been the creation of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs); these structures are intended to be a key delivery driver of regional economic growth. This paper draws on insights from semi-structured interviews with actors involved in the development of a LEP in the north of England. Findings draw attention to concerns from civil society over losing its distinctiveness through these partnerships, and in the process losing its ethos as a guardian of the public good.     

The World Wide Fund for Nature Arctic Tourism Project

This article investigates the involvement of an environmental non - governmental organisation (ENGO) in a sustainable tourism initiative. The article examines the collaborative relationship between this ENGO, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and other stakeholders in this Project, which involves integrating conservation with Arctic tourism. The collaboration has included tour operators, polar scientists, tourism academics and researchers, local and national government representatives, Arctic community representatives and members of NGOs, in addition to WWF representatives. The goal of the Project was to integrate conservation ideals into tourism in Arctic locations to enable communities, tourists and operators to work towards a more sustainable form of tourism. This article discusses the aims of the Project, presents an analysis of the processes involved, particularly those of negotiation and implementation, and provides an evaluation of the outcomes in relation to the original aims.     

Who's acquiring whom? — Experimental evidence of firm size effect on B2B mergers and marketing/sales tasks

A recent study has revealed a marked growth in global mergers and acquisitions between firms from developed and developing countries. Unlike previous merger waves, however, companies in emerging markets are playing an increasingly important role. This highlights the need for greater scrutiny of more, and diverse, aspects of mergers. In particular, the size difference between firms involved in mergers and its impact on merger outcomes are of interest. This paper examines whether the involvement of differing numbers of employees (either from the acquiring firm or from the acquired firm) may influence merger success. Drawing on previous work in understanding organizational culture and merger dynamics, we conduct a laboratory experiment that not only confirms the presence of learning and conflict in organizational cultures in mergers but also presents new findings in relation to the relative size of the firms involved.     

Searching for a Weapon of Mass Production in Rural Africa: Unconvincing Arguments for Land Reform

Many recent arguments for land reform share a central proposition concerning the relative efficiency of small farm production. This article argues that the theoretical reasoning underlying this proposition is not coherent, and furthermore the empirical support for this size–efficiency relationship in Africa is astonishingly weak. Given the evidence, the continued focus on the efficient, egalitarian family farm can only be ideologically driven. The poorest rural people are unlikely to benefit and will probably be harmed by the policies based on these arguments for land reform. To illustrate this point, the article considers data from land redistribution programmes, particularly in South Africa, that suggest not only that the poorest did not acquire land, but also that they suffered declines in rural wage earning opportunities that are crucial for their survival.