Forging new relationships: Social capital in the transistion

A theory of transitional economies is now emerging, much of which is evolutionary-institutional in nature and hence very critical of the naïveté of socalled shock therapy and the economic reasoning that supported it. Indeed it has become apparent that changing the formal rules of the game, difficult as this may be, is far from sufficient. The informal rules of the game, the customs and norms of the social order, are critical to the operation of the economy. These informal rules are often implicit or tacit, and therefore very difficult to reach on a policy level. This paper seeks to apply the concept of social capital to the transitional economic process using the former Soviet republic of Russia to draw attention to the complex issues of governance and legitimacy that are too often neglected in economic discourse.     

Massimo della somma tra una funzione lineare ed una funzione lineare fratta

In questo lavoro si considera un problema di estremo vincolato avente la regione ammissibile espressa da diseguaglianze lineari e per funzione obiettivo la somma tra una funzione lineare fratta. Per tale problema viene proposto un algoritmo risolutivo che ne determina una soluzione ottima, generando un numero finito di massimi locali.

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Summary We present a sequential method to solve a constrained extrema problem with feasible region defined by linear inequalities and objective function expressed as a sum of a linear and homografical functions.The technique used finds a finite number of local extrema, the last being the global one.

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Ricerca effettuata con fondi erogati dal Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione.     

A FURTHER EXAMINATION OF STOCK PRICE CHANGES AND TRANSACTION VOLUME

This study provides a further test of whether the price change-volume relationship is asymmetric as Epps' theoretical model and empirical evidence indicate. Testing during periods of known information arrival supports his hypothesis that the ratio of volume to absolute price change on price increases is higher than that ratio on equivalent price decreases. There is some contrary evidence when the testing occurs over trading days for which there is no known information arrival. This reversal of results could be due to the combined effect of positive transaction costs and no information arrival. There is evidence in support of this explanation.     

Building Relationships Early: Banks in Venture Capital

This paper examines bank behavior in venture capital. It considersthe relation between a bank's venture capital investments andits subsequent lending, which can be thought of as intertemporalcross-selling. Theory suggests that unlike independent venturecapital firms, banks may be strategic investors who seek complementaritiesbetween venture capital and lending activities. We find evidencethat banks use venture capital investments to build lendingrelationships. Having a prior relationship with a company inthe venture capital market increases a bank's chance of subsequentlygranting a loan to that company. Companies can benefit fromthese relationships through more favorable loan pricing.     

The internationalization process in the small and medium sized firms: A case study on the Italian clothing industry

In this research we use a data-base that reveals the propensity for contractual ventures and direct investments (1051 operations) of the clothing Italian companies during the period 1987–1991, on a national (342 operations) and international level (709 operations). The latter were analyzed with reference to the internal (412) and external growth strategies (297), cooperative (362) and non-cooperative (347) deals. Our analysis focuses on the different strategies that SMEs, on one hand, and large companies, on the other hand, show in the internationalization process. Main results of the study are:

the international growth of the SMEs takes place mainly through contractual agreements (68%), more so than with non-cooperative operation (32%), whereas in large companies the non-cooperative strategies slightly prevail (54%). Consequently, the external growth strategy is very important for the SMEs (72%) and somewhat less important for the large companies (54%);

the cooperative growth is usually seen by SMEs as an expansion both of the commercial (48% of the operations involves commercial purposes) and of the production areas (48% of the cases). This could indicate that SMEs try to organize on an international level the same network model used in Italy: SMEs decentralize their production within the country through networks of companies and industrial districts, whose horizontal connections (among SMEs themselves) and vertical connections (with large companies) provide flexibility and low costs;

large companies' expectations of the Single European Market have brought a great number of international operations in Europe (24%), notwithstanding the notable importance of Japan (23%) and U.S. (17%); on the contrary, SMEs focus on “niche and rich markets” as Japan (40%); but as far as the contractual agreements are concerned, both types of firm privilege the Japanese market: almost 50% of SMEs' international agreements are directed towards Japan (33% in the large company's case);

large companies and SMEs in the middle and high segments of the market carry out more operations than companies operating in the low quality and casual segments;

generally speaking, in Italy there is an urgent need for industrial policies promoting SMEs access to cooperative instruments (“learning by cooperating”).

     

Normative and innovative sustainable resource management at birding festivals

The sustainable ancillary resource management (SARM) practices of US-based birding festivals are investigated. A questionnaire completed by organisers of 108 of 135 identified festivals (80%) revealed several normative SARM practices such as signage re-use and container recycling, and a large number of innovative practices undertaken by one or more festivals. Cluster analysis yielded roughly equal groups of 'non-innovators', 'normative recyclers', 'innovative energy conservers', 'innovative recyclers' and 'comprehensive innovators'. SARM innovators also tended to be ecotourism innovators, while innovation was also related to attendee numbers but not festival longevity or identification of festival with 'ecotourism'. No clear diffusion effects are evident. Follow-up surveys suggested positive relationships with cost, attendee satisfaction/demand, and sense of responsibility, but not revenue generation. A dedicated organisation and sponsored certification protocols are suggested to facilitate dissemination of innovative SARM practices, which were less prevalent than expected given the nature of such events.     

Priming a Cross‐Category Brand Alliance: The Moderating Role of Attribute Knowledge and Need for Cognition

Firms often enter cross‐category advertising brand alliance strategies with the goal to increase their market share by association with popular but noncompeting brand allies. However, firms are often not aware of the effects of these alliances on consumer perceptions of participating brands. This research explores the factors moderating brand attribute inferences following exposure to a cross‐category advertising brand alliance. It is proposed that attributes of a brand ally may serve as anchors that produce assimilation effects and move perceptions of a target brand toward the ally's attribute value, or as standards of comparison that produce contrast. This work provides evidence that attribute judgments in a cross‐category advertising brand alliance are moderated by attribute knowledge and individual differences in information processing motivation as reflected in self‐reported need for cognition (NFC) ratings.