Driving forces of chemical risks for the European biodiversity

In the framework of the EU-funded research project ALARM (Assessing LArge-scale environmental Risks with tested Methods), an original method combining the DPSIR (driving forces–pressures–state–impacts–responses) framework and an analysis based on the distinction between the four spheres of sustainability (environmental, economic, social and political) has been developed. This paper presents the application of this method, called “the tetrahedral DPSIR” for the identification and analysis of driving forces of environmental chemicals risks for biodiversity, in Europe. The purpose of this methodology is to help reduce the pressures on biodiversity through modifying the driving forces behind them by offering scientific advice to policy makers. We frame our analysis in the context of the current policy, namely the implementation of REACH (Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of CHemicals).     

The Role of Cultural and Symbolic Capital in Entrepreneurs' Ability to Meet Expectations about Conformity and Innovation

We conceptualize entrepreneurs' success in acquiring resources as the outcome of a socially embedded process of pursuing legitimacy, which in turn encompasses their ability to meet field incumbents' expectations about conformity and innovation. Drawing from Bourdieu's theory of practice, we specifically discuss entrepreneurs' ability, when entering a business field, to simultaneously conform to existing field arrangements (i.e., to "fit in") and to be perceived as innovators (i.e., to "stand out"). A possible paradoxical relationship marks entrepreneurs' ability to meet both of these expectations; we discuss the role of entrepreneurs' cultural and symbolic capital in this process. In addition, two contingency factors may influence how entrepreneurs' ability to fit in and stand out affects their resource acquisition. First, the contribution of the two facets of legitimacy to resource acquisition is influenced by the maturity of the field the entrepreneur enters. Second, entrepreneurs' resource acquisition may be enhanced by their ability to artfully navigate the possible conflicting demands to fit in versus stand out through impression management.     

Evaluating horizontal mergers in the presence of price promotions

Quantitative Marketing and Economics - In this paper, I investigate the impact of a horizontal merger between firms that use price promotions. I find that after the merger, the merged firms...     

On stochastic comparisons of minimum order statistics from the location–scale family of distributions

We consider stochastic comparisons of minimum order statistics from the location–scale family of distributions that contain most of the popular lifetime distributions. Under certain assumptions, we show that the minimum order statistic of one set of random variables dominates that of another set of random variables with respect to different stochastic orders. Furthermore, we illustrate our results using some well-known specific distributions.     

Robust XVA

We introduce an arbitrage‐free framework for robust valuation adjustments. An investor trades a credit default swap portfolio with a risky counterparty, and hedges credit risk by taking a position in defaultable bonds. The investor does not know the exact return rate of her counterparty's bond, but she knows it lies within an uncertainty interval. We derive both upper and lower bounds for the XVA process of the portfolio, and show that these bounds may be recovered as solutions of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The presence of collateralization and closeout payoffs leads to important differences with respect to classical credit risk valuation. The value of the super‐replicating portfolio cannot be directly obtained by plugging one of the extremes of the uncertainty interval in the valuation equation, but rather depends on the relation between the XVA replicating portfolio and the closeout value throughout the life of the transaction. Our comparative statics analysis indicates that credit contagion has a nonlinear effect on the replication strategies and on the XVA.     

Information acquisition,coordination, and fundamentals in a financial crisis

This paper reconciles the two explanations of a financial crisis, the self-fulfilling prophecy and the fundamental causes, in an empirically-relevant framework, by explicitly modeling the costly voluntary acquisition of information about fundamentals in a variant of Diamond and Dybvig [Diamond, D., Dybvig, P., 1983. Bank runs, deposit insurance, and liquidity. Journal of Political Economy 91, 401–419]. The model exhibits strategic complementarity in information acquisition. In the “partial run” equilibrium investors engage in costly evaluation of projects, so that banks with lower-return projects fail. There also exist the classic “full-run” and “no-run” equilibria in which there is no project evaluation. Investors’ coordination on a specific equilibrium is triggered by a self-fulfilling prophecy. So, financial crises are seen as both fundamentals-based and self-fulfilling prophecies-based phenomena.     

Think again: Why good leaders make bad decisions

Sydney Finkelstein, Jo Whitehead , and Andrew Campbell studied decisions made around the world and researched those that were flawed at their inception. Their caveats for making decisions will help you to avoid some common errors.     

Deterrence, Lawsuits, and Litigation Outcomes Under Court Errors

This article presents a strategic model of liability and litigationunder court errors. Our framework allows for endogenous choiceof level of care and endogenous likelihood of filing and disputes.We derive sufficient conditions for a unique universally divinemixed-strategy perfect Bayesian equilibrium under low courterrors. In this equilibrium, some defendants choose to be grosslynegligent; some cases are filed; and some lawsuits are dropped,some are resolved out of court, and some go to trial. We findthat court errors in the size of the award, as well as damagecaps and split awards, reduce the likelihood of trial but increasefiling and reduce the deterrence effect of punitive damages.We derive conditions under which the adoption of the Englishrule for allocating legal costs reduces filing.     

Sustainable tourism implementation in urban areas: a case study of London

Sustainable tourism is a concept widely embraced by managers and planners of tourist destinations. However, it has received little attention in the context of urban tourism, an area of research that has until recently been largely neglected by academics. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge on sustainable tourism implementation in large cities, by using London as an exploratory case study. Through the collection and analysis of both primary and secondary data (online survey, semi-structured interviews and document analysis), it seeks to explore whether local authorities have implemented policies towards sustainable tourism in the capital. The findings indicate that although the concept of sustainable tourism is perceived as important by policy makers, only a few local authorities in London promote its principles in their policy documents and even fewer have initiatives to put them in practice. Most of these initiatives are isolated activities which address limited aspects of sustainable tourism. The paper concludes that despite some progress made to date, in the current economic climate, growth and development remain the main objectives of governments and local authorities, while social and environmental issues are often left behind.     

Trajectories of Russian manufacturing firms’ growth after the global financial crisis of 2008–2009: the role of restructuring efforts and regional institutional environment

The aim of this article is to conduct an empirical investigation and reveal which types of modernisation strategies and characteristics of regional institutional environment are likely to be associated with patterns of the performance of Russian manufacturing firms in 2007–2012. In addition to estimating the impact of ex-ante behaviour on the rate of sales growth, we use hierarchical cluster analysis to reveal the typical trajectories of firms’ sales growth. We find that the dynamic of sales for more than 90% of firms can be described by just two types of performance curve: (a) crisis decline with recovery and growth; and (b) crisis decline with weak recovery and stagnation. Firms that invested more prior to the crisis and implemented active restructuring were more likely to have positive post-crisis dynamics of sales. We find evidence that firms in the regions with lower levels of corruption (both administrative and everyday) were more likely to recover successfully after the crisis.