The behaviour of repeat visitors to museums: review and empirical findings

This study presents a theoretical and operational framework for analysing repeat visit to museums. Starting from the literature on repeat visit in tourism, the specificities of these cultural attractions are made explicit through a review of theoretical and applied works. Consistently with previous contributors, the paper suggests that the analysis of actual past behaviours has to be preferred to the one of attitudes. The application of proper econometric models is also remarked in order to put into account individual profiles. Information coming from three techniques is then used in an integrated way in order to provide a more comprehensive view of the phenomenon. Evidence from an ad hoc survey suggests the necessity to give a greater attention to perceived cultural value during the visit, promoting cultural events during the week and addressed to children, and taking care of those visitors that come from far places also through an integrated tourist supply.     

Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Quality and Safety in Clams

The aim of the research is to estimate the potential demand for certified clams in Italy and to investigate the determinants of maximum amount that respondents are willing to pay for this product. Quantitative analysis was used based on 1,067 face-to-face interviews collected in 3 Italian regions in the north bordering the Adriatic Sea (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna) carried out during 2008. The consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) is measured using a contingent valuation method. In order to estimate separately the determinants of the probability that respondents are willing to pay and the maximum that they are willing to pay, a generalization of Tobit model was adopted. The results indicate that consumers are willing to pay a premium price mainly to purchase better quality products. The research provides some initial insight into consumers' WTP that can be useful for certified fish farming.     

Women in business: entrepreneurship, ethics and efficiency

This article begins by reviewing some of the main theoretical approaches to entrepreneurship. We then discuss the measures proposed in the literature to benefit women, facilitating reconciliation of work and family life and examining the view of authors who consider the negative effects of these measures. Finally, we contemplate situations where the measures benefiting women are based on economic or ethical reasons. This last section qualifies the universalist approach underlying work-family life reconciliation, describing the context for interaction between women and entrepreneurial activity.     

Vertical integration in production and services: development in transaction cost economics

In this paper, we first establish the core, fundamental concepts of Williamson’s TCE, examining the different governance structures or the institutional alternatives that TCE theory proposes. We go on to describe some critical considerations and theoretical proposals that correspond fundamentally to Williamson’s heuristic model, the integration of incentives in organizational forms, idiosyncratic demand, and how the concept of transaction is conceived in general.     

The role of institutional and reputational factors in the voluntary adoption of corporate social responsibility reporting standards

Firms are uncertain about the value of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, which may involve significant costs. What makes them embark on the initiative? This is the first study to explore the voluntary adoption by companies of the world’s most widespread framework of CSR reporting—the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI case is impressive because it achieved its status in mere 10 years. The inquiry focuses on the role of the firm’s institutional environment and identity communicators as drivers of the adoption of the GRI principles as a reputation management tool. The authors use a duration model to test hypotheses with data on 600 top global companies. The findings indicate that competitive and media pressures together with a company’s CSR media visibility and CSR publicity efforts are important determinants of GRI adoption. Also, as the GRI framework becomes more institutionalized, companies pick up more information from prior adopters.