Life Insurance in Nigeria: An Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action to Consumers' Attitudes and Purchase Intention

This paper is concerned with consumers' attitudes towards purchase of life insurance in Nigeria. There is considerable unexploited potential for the life insurance market in Nigeria. However, due to lack of confidence based on continuous negative experiences, consumers tend not to buy. Data was gathered from 240 non-users of life insurance at Abuja, the federal capital city, using structured questionnaires based on the Theory of Reasoned Action; and questions were related to issues of non-consumption of life insurance. The findings show that increased level of consumer consciousness and lack of welfare benefits are encouraging growth factors for the life insurance market in Nigeria. Since the purchase intention towards life insurance is determined by normative factors, the recommendation is that the initial point of contact for marketing communications regarding the purchase of life insurance should be family and friends.     

Optimal make–take fees for market making regulation

We address the mechanism design problem of an exchange setting suitable make– take fees to attract liquidity on its platform. Using a principal–agent approach, we provide the optimal compensation scheme of a market maker in quasi‐explicit form. This contract depends essentially on the market maker inventory trajectory and on the volatility of the asset. We also provide the optimal quotes that should be displayed by the market maker. The simplicity of our formulas allows us to analyze in details the effects of optimal contracting with an exchange, compared to a situation without contract. We show in particular that it improves liquidity and reduces trading costs for investors. We extend our study to an oligopoly of symmetric exchanges and we study the impact of such common agency policy on the system.     

Stock Market Reaction to Quality,Safety, and Sustainability Awards in Logistics

Although quality, safety, and sustainability are important concerns in logistics, managers are sometimes reluctant to invest in these areas because it is not always clear how such investments will benefit firm performance. Empirical literature provides little guidance in the context of logistics as previous studies report mixed findings across a diverse set of industries, which may not be directly applicable to logistics. To address this gap, we conducted an event study to estimate the stock market reaction to quality, safety, and sustainability award announcements in logistics. Based on 244 award announcements during the period 2004–13, we found that stock market participants react positively to announcements of these awards. The market reaction appears to be stronger for sustainability awards than for quality and safety awards. Our results also suggest that the market reacts more favorably to quality and sustainability award announcements for firms with better past financial performance and for smaller firms.     

Arresting the Killer in the Kitchen: The Promises and Pitfalls of Commercializing Improved Cookstoves

In a shift exemplary of neoliberal approaches to development, major funders of household energy interventions have begun to emphasize market-based stove dissemination over partially subsidized models. Stove promoters are increasingly expected to operate as self-sustaining businesses. This shift is viewed as a way to “scale-up” in order to reach millions of poor households lacking access to clean cooking technologies. Using the case of GIRA, an NGO that has successfully distributed cookstoves in Mexico’s Central Highlands for nearly two decades, we demonstrate how this trend presents challenges for organizations operating effectively with outside funding in highly contextual local conditions.     

Could Auditing Standards Be Based on Society's Values?

One of the criticisms directed at the accounting profession is that auditing and accounting standards are subjective in nature and do not represent the society's widespread interests and values. This paper examines whether a general consensus exists regarding the significance of incorporating society's values into auditing standards. The examination revealed the lack of such general agreement and further indicated that the perceptual differences are subjective in nature and not influenced by the participant's qualifications, income, experience, gender or marital status.     

European environmental policy between decentralisation and uniformity

Does the European Union require a common environmental policy? While there are a number of arguments in favour of shifting competences for environmental policy to the European level, there are also fields in which decentralised policies appear to make more sense. The following article reviews the pros and cons of centralism and decentralism in European environmental policy and concludes that the Union must integrate elements of both options into its constitutional order.     

Resource abundance,financial crisis and economic growth: did resource‐rich countries fare better during the global financial crisis?

This study examines the role of resource abundance in the cross‐country differences in the impacts of the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008–2009. Using forecasts from the unobserved components model and exponential smoothing technique, we estimate the output levels a country would reach in 2009 and 2013 in the absence of the GFC, and compare these with the realised output levels. We find large variations in the output losses across 72 countries. The mineral‐rich countries have been found to be in a strong position to survive any adverse shocks stemming from the GFC. Income per capita, trade openness, and institutional quality and government effectiveness are also found to be key factors determining the differences in output loss in the post‐crisis period. These findings have strong implications for resource‐rich countries such as Australia and are expected to shed new light on alternative policy designs and appropriate strategies to deal with any future economic crisis.     

Excess Capacity and Asymmetric Information in Developing Country Fisheries: The Malaysian Purse Seine Fishery

Excess capacity poses a problem in many developing country fisheries. These countries often pursue a development strategy aimed at expanding capacity under open access. Sustainable development, however, requires management. Principal-agent issues from asymmetric information between the regulator and fishers, which potentially form serious obstacles to fisheries management, arise in the likely forms of management. This article discusses principal-agent issues and examines the principal-agent moral hazard issue, which is due to divorce of ownership and vessel operations. The article also illustrates a method for estimating capacity when information is limited. The Peninsular Malaysian purse seine fishery forms a case study.     

Dynamic Capabilities, Government Policies, and Performance in Firms from Emerging Economies: Evidence from India and Pakistan

In this study we developed a model of the dynamic capability development mechanisms in Emerging Market manufacturing Firms (EMF). We identified three dynamic capability development mechanisms: organizational learning, reverse engineering, and manufacturing flexibility. We generated hypotheses based on this framework, linking these mechanisms with firm performance. We also modelled the roles played by managerial use of two types of government policies: input supporting policies and marketing supporting policies. We tested our hypotheses on a sample of Indian and Pakistani manufacturing firms. Results showed that organizational learning, reverse engineering and manufacturing flexibility had significant impacts on EMF performance. Additionally, organizational learning combined with input supporting government policies enhanced performance, and the combination of manufacturing flexibility and marketing supporting government policies had an insignificant influence on performance.