Institutional Pressures, Monopolistic Conditions and the Implementation of Early Cost Management Practices: The Case of the Royal Tobacco Factory of Seville (1820–1887)

In spite of our increasing understanding of the underpinnings of early cost management systems, little is still known about the reasons for the implementation of such systems in firms operating under monopolistic conditions. This article studies the enforcement by law of cost and budgeting systems in the Royal Tobacco Factory of Seville (Spain), a manufactory of the state-owned monopoly. By doing this, we seek both to enhance understanding of the state's motivation to enact institutional pressures aiming at the implementation of early cost management practices as well as to study different organizational responses to simultaneous pressures arising from a single institutional source. It is suggested that the state's motivation to legally enforce the implementation of early cost and budgeting systems may be attributed to (a) the seeking of legitimacy by the state regulatory body, (b) the active agency of senior employees of the state regulatory body to keep their jobs and compensation packages on the eve of the privatization of the industry, and (c) the interest of the regulatory agency to instil the basis of mimetic isomorphism within the monopoly. Different responses by the RTF to pressures for reporting cost and budgeting information were explained by (a) the expected diffusion of firm's non-conformity within the institutional area, (b) the expected impact of institutional rules and norms on organizational goals, and (c) the extent to which the institutional source is consistent in its demands.     

The effect of authenticity on visitors’ expenditure at cultural events

The main aim of this study is to analyse the influence of the perceived authenticity of cultural events and their products on shopping expenditure. The quantitative analysis is based on 1275 self-administered questionnaires collected among event attendees in three different Northern Italian Christmas Markets in 2008. In order to estimate separately the determinants of the propensity of respondents to shop and how much money they are willing to spend for each kind of purchase, we have adopted a double-hurdle model. The results show that tourists are more likely to spend and that they do spend more if they consider the event and the products sold to be authentic. This study also reveals that socio-demographic factors and visit motives are interrelated with authenticity perception and together affect the amount of personal expenditures during the event. Finally, some implications of the study are discussed.     

A regional perspective on inequality and growth in Portugal using panel cointegration analysis

This paper examines the relationship between inequality and economic growth for thirty Portuguese NUTS3 regions within a multivariate panel framework over the period 1995–2007, using panel cointegration techniques to test for the existence of a relationship between inequality and real GDP per capita. The results point to the existence of a relationship between the variables, where the effect of inequality, measured as the Gini index of the earnings distribution, on per capita output is negative. This negative influence seems to be determined by the behaviour of the bottom of the earnings distribution, most likely by dampening investment in human capital, with the results pointing to the coexistence of a positive impact of inequality at the top of the distribution, supporting the incentives argument for the inequality-growth nexus. Additionally, the results confirm the predicted positive relationship between human capital and output, lending support to both the exogenous and endogenous growth models predictions on the importance of human capital for production both as an input in the production of final goods and in the production of technology. Another interesting result concerns structural funds: we found a negative relation of this variable with regional output. We believe that EU structural funds were a source of Dutch disease for Portugal, which resulted mainly in a lack of external competitiveness of the Portuguese economy due to the excessive specialization in non-tradable goods made possible by the European funds.     

Organisational capabilities and transaction costs in the analysis of activities and their externalisation: implications for the service industry

Transaction cost theory and the organisational capability view are complementary in the analysis of the firm and in examining the decision to integrate or externalise activities. This article discusses the essential contributions of both theories to understanding the core aspects of the internal organisation of the firm, and goes onto address the key questions of why activities are organised internally or why certain components or services are obtained from suppliers or distributors; and finally looks at the cases in which firms make decisions with regard to supply, distribution or retail sales.     

Royalty licensing

Most patent licensing agreements observed empirically include either per-unit or ad valorem royalties. The theoretical literature generally focuses on per-unit royalties. We provide a simple justification for the presence of ad valorem royalties in licensing contracts.     

Furloughing*

Over nine million jobs were furloughed in the United Kingdom during the coronavirus pandemic. Using real-time survey evidence from the UK in April and May 2020, we document which workers were most likely to be furloughed and we analyse variation in the terms on which they furloughed. We find that women were significantly more likely to be furloughed. Inequality in care responsibilities seems to have played a key role: mothers were 10 percentage points more likely than fathers to initiate the decision to be furloughed (as opposed to it being fully or mostly the employer's decision) but we find no such gender gap amongst childless workers. The prohibition of working whilst furloughed was routinely ignored, especially by men who can do a large percentage of their work tasks from home. Women were less likely to have their salary topped up beyond the 80 per cent subsidy paid for by the government. Considering the future, furloughed workers without employer-provided sick pay have a lower willingness to pay to return to work, as do those in sales and food preparation occupations. Compared with non-furloughed employees, furloughed workers are more pessimistic about keeping their job in the short to medium run and are more likely to be actively searching for a new job, even when controlling for detailed job characteristics. These results have important implications for the design of short-time work schemes and the strategy for effectively reopening the economy.     

The preparedness of companies to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards: Portuguese evidence

This paper uses ordinal regression, structural equation modelling, and multivariate analysis techniques to investigate the preparedness to adopt IFRS that was exhibited by listed Portuguese companies in August 2003. We find the level of preparedness was significantly associated with company size, commercial internationalization, audit by a ‘Big 4’ accounting firm, and profitability. Our findings will help to indicate the pre-conditions that are likely to spur lagging companies (and countries) to prepare to implement IFRS.     

The Decision to Use Alliances as Corporate Entrepreneurship: The Role of Resources and Skills

This aim of this research is to analyse the role of firm resources and skills in the decision to cooperate as a method for developing entrepreneurial activity. We use a sample of 967 entrepreneurial operations undertaken between 2000 and 2004 by 323 EU-15 companies. Results suggest that skills are more important than resources when choosing how to undertake an entrepreneurial activity. While experience in cooperation and possession of technological resources make the choice of an alliance more probable, experience in entrepreneurial activities and possession of physical resources may lead the company to opt for other alternatives.     

Did Italy Need More Labour Flexibility?

The dramatic impact of the 2008 crisis on the Italian economy led to policy responses including structural reforms and labour market liberalisation to reverse the worrisome output and employment trends. A key action by the Italian government, the evocatively named Jobs Act of 2014, has deeply changed Italian industrial relations. The Jobs Act has introduced a new contract type that substantially limits workers’ rights to reinstatement in case of fi rms invalidly fi ring them. This article frames the Jobs Act within the overall liberalisation process begun in Italy in the 1990s, providing an initial evaluation of its impacts. Using detailed data sources, we show that the expected boost in employment cannot be detected, the share of temporary contracts over open-ended ones has increased and the number of part-time contracts has risen. This evidence suggests that the Jobs Act is failing to achieve its main goals.     

So heilen Narben nach Brust OP besser

Das kann die Plastische Chirurgie – Jedes Jahr erkranken in Deutschland etwa 55.000 Frauen neu an Brustkrebs. Vielen von ihnen bietet nur eine radikale Brustamputation die Chance auf Heilung – ein verstümmelnder Eingriff für die Betroffenen. Doch heute gibt es viele M?glichkeiten, diesen Frauen wieder zu einem positiven K?rperbild zu verhelfen.