Consumer value of virtual music festivals

Virtual music festivals (VMFs) are a great opportunity for the music industry to improve high quality digital events; as an alternative consumption phenomenon, VMFs can reach hybrid audiences and help in the challenge of digitalization. This study aims to investigate the multidimensional structure of consumer value in VMFs (intra-variable perspective), as well as the effects of value on cognitive versus affective satisfaction and loyalty (inter-variable perspective). Using a qualitative–quantitative approach—focus group and survey with festival attendees (n = 246)—, a value structure of VMF is tested with partial least square–SEM as a reflective-formative-formative third-order model. Benefits and sacrifices are second-order constructs, while five positives (escape, novelty, enjoyment, musical content, and socialization) and two negatives (monetary and nonmonetary costs) are first-order ones. Results show VMFs value as a multidimensional trade-off, where socialization is not contributing to value, but a balance between cognitive (musical content) and affective (enjoyment, and less escape and novelty) exists. Furthermore, consumer value intensifies both cognitive and affective satisfaction, but just the former affects loyalty. These findings provide new insights to better understand the decision-making processes of virtual festival attendees.     

Antecedents of entry mode choice when diversifying

Corporate diversification is one of the broadest investigation topics in strategic management, but there are important gaps in the literature regarding entry mode choice. Few studies have examined the extent to which pre-entry conditions influence the choice of entry mode into new businesses. Past research has focused exclusively on internal development and acquisition as ways of entering new businesses, without considering the existence of hybrid forms, such as strategic alliances, that have experienced extensive growth during the last decade. Here we present an in-depth analysis of entry mode choice that uses an integrative perspective of corporate diversification and considers strategic alliances as an alternative to traditional approaches. A survey of 272 domestic diversifying entries by 155 Spanish firms allows us to characterize the use of cooperative agreements in diversification and to stress the role of inter-firm cooperation in acquiring the knowledge and capability required to grow into new businesses.     

Who is Who

Praxis / MagazinNews

Who is Who     

The renewed Lisbon Strategy and social exclusion policy

In the light of its manifest mid‐term failure to make progress towards its key objectives, the EU introduced in 2005 a major ‘relaunch’ of its Lisbon Strategy for economic, employment and social development. The core aspect of this was ‘prioritisation’, involving an increased focus on growth and jobs. This raised the issue of whether the pursuit of greater competitiveness would lead to a downgrading of the importance of the original social objectives of the programme. In its focal concern on the fight against social exclusion, the EU's strategy involved both employment and social objectives. These emphasised in particular the creation not only of more but of ‘better jobs’ and the pursuit of actions to reinforce ‘social inclusion’ and ‘social cohesion’. This article considers whether a significant shift did occur in policy emphasis and the implications of the Lisbon reform for progress in reducing the risks of social exclusion. It reviews first the basic changes in the formulation of the strategy and then examines in turn the effectiveness of its policy initiatives with respect to employment, the quality of work and social inclusion.     

Firm credit in the euro area: a tale of three crises

Using survey data from 2009 to 2011, we analyse the effects of the recent euro area economic, financial and private debt crisis on the supply of and demand for bank finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). At the country level, we identify three distinct aspects of the recent crisis in the euro area affecting firm credit through different channels. Controlling for country fixed effects, the impact of a weak real economy on firm credit operates both by reducing firms’ demand for bank financing and by lenders increasing loan rejections and tightening terms and conditions on credit allocated. On the other hand, financial conditions have no significant effect on demand, but they do affect credit supply as we find that financial tensions worsen the chances of obtaining credit and its terms and conditions. We interpret this as evidence of a bank balance sheet channel negatively impacting credit provision. We find that private sector indebtedness has important effects on SMEs’ credit access and its terms and conditions.     

FORMAL SEARCH AND REFERRALS FROM A FIRM'S PERSPECTIVE

We explore the relationship between firms' characteristics and recruitment strategies. We present a theoretical search model with two search channels: a costly formal channel and a costless informal channel (referrals). We empirically test the model predictions and find that: larger firms search more formally; firms search more formally for high-skilled workers; the positive relationship between firm's size and formal search intensity also holds for firms not using referrals; firms using referrals invest less into formal search compared to firms not using referrals; larger firms hire less often by referrals than smaller firms; and larger search effort leads to more applicants.     

The effects of third party certification on voluntary self-regulation of accidents in the U.S. chemical industry

We explore whether the introduction of mandatory third party certification in 2005 under the Responsible Care program has reduced the probability and severity of accidents in participating facilities in the U.S. chemical industry. Using a sample of 10,315 observations from 1136 facilities owned by 566 RC and non-RC firms between 1996 and 2010, we estimate the average treatment effect of third party certification. We find that the difference-in-difference estimate of the average treatment effect is statistically insignificant. This result is robust to various model specifications including the potential endogeniety of third party certification due to a firm’s self-selection into RC.     

Organizational career management practices and objective career success: A systematic review and framework

The theorization of the relationship between organizational investments in career development and individual success remains underdeveloped, and empirical tests of this relationship, which have been dispersed among several disciplinary areas, have produced inconsistent results. Addressing these issues, the purpose of this article is to propose a theoretical framework that illustrates why and how organizational career management practices translate into career success and under what circumstances the relationship is effective. Using a systematic review of empirical studies on career management practices and objective success, we identify three theoretical mechanisms - developmental, informational, and relational - and two groups of contingency factors that explain this relationship. Our framework advances the extant literature on organizational career management and provides suggestions to companies for designing effective career management systems.     

Do data policy restrictions impact the productivity performance of firms and industries?

This paper examines how policies regulating the cross‐border movement and domestic use of electronic data on the internet impact the productivity of firms in sectors relying on electronic data. In doing so, we collect regulatory information on a group of developed economies and create an index that measures the regulatory restrictiveness of each country's data policies. The index is based on observable policy measures that explicitly inhibit the cross‐border movement and domestic use of data. Using cross‐country firm‐level and industry‐level data, we analyse econometrically the extent to which these data regulations over time impact the productivity performance of downstream firms and industries, respectively. We show that stricter data policies have a negative and significant impact on the performance of downstream firms in sectors reliant on electronic data. This adverse effect is stronger for countries with strong technology networks, for servicified firms, and holds for several robustness checks.