Theoretical aspects of trade,risk and growth

An intertemporal model of an open economy incorporating risk in the export price is developed. It is shown how the optimal trajectories for consumption, investment, growth, exports, and resource allocation can be determined using dynamic stochastic programming. The risk sensitivity and time effects of the various trajectories are analyzed for the case of a logarithmic social utility function. Interestingly, the results obtained are not all in conformance with the conventional results of portfolio theory analysis as applied to savings.     

Culture,Attitudes, and Media Patterns in China,Taiwan, and the U.S.: Balancing Standardization and Localization Decisions

ABSTRACT

A study was undertaken to examine cultural orientations, attitudes toward advertising, and media use patterns across China, Taiwan, and the United States. China and Taiwan share similar cultural backgrounds, yet their economies and advertising industries have evolved quite differently due to different social and political settings. The United States was included to provide a point of comparison. Understanding media patterns, cultural orientations, and attitudes can help better ascertain the potential for using standardized strategies by international advertisers across different markets. Industry and consumer trends in evolving markets can also be monitored. Consumers in China and Taiwan were found to be more similar than different. For example, consumers in both markets were less individualistic and more collectivistic than their counterparts in the U.S. They also exhibited more favorable attitudes toward advertising than American consumers. Furthermore, Chinese and Taiwanese respondents spent significantly more time with print media than American respondents. Implications of the findings for balancing standardization and localization decisions are discussed.     

Empirical Findings on Business–Society Relations in Europe

Based on a theoretical exploration in a previous article, this paper empirically analyzes which issues of SD are taken into account by corporations and stakeholders in what way, and to what extent the concept of sustainable development (SD) can be achieved through stakeholder relations management (SRM) on the corporate level. An important basis for this empirical analysis is a referential framework, which specifies 14 issues of SD. In a first empirical step, the literature-based framework has been operationalized for the business world by analyzing sustainability reports. In a second empirical step, the operationalized framework served as the basis for a survey of selected MNCs. The analyses of the sustainability reports and the survey show how MNCs deal with particular issues of SD and what role they perceive particular stakeholders play. A key conclusion of the article is that SRM indeed promotes SD, but that it is no alternative to predictable government regulation.     

The effect of hospitableness and servicescape on guest satisfaction in the hotel industry

This paper aims to investigate the influence of hotel hospitality on hotel guest satisfaction along with the moderating effect of the hotel servicescape on the relationship between hospitality and satisfaction. In this preliminary study, which involved 403 hotel guests in Malaysia, we employed a questionnaire survey as the main method of data collection. The structural equation modelling (CFA) used to assess the model revealed a good fit. A hierarchical moderated regression analysis was performed and showed statistical support for the positive influence of hotel hospitality on guest satisfaction as well as a positive moderating effect of servicescape. Copyright © 2013 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of title event sponsorship announcements on shareholder wealth

Title sponsorships are often considered the crown jewels of sports sponsorship programs. Garnering top media coverage, title sponsorships are prized for both generating brand/product awareness and building image for their sponsors. Not surprisingly, the rising cost of title sponsorships has led some managers to question their underlying value. Accordingly, this study presents an analysis of the impact of 114 title sponsorship announcements of professional tennis and golf tournaments (both men’s and women’s), auto racing (NASCAR), and college bowl games on the stock prices of sponsoring firms. Overall, the results of the study suggest that title sponsorships are generally signed at market-clearing prices. Thus, companies undertaking title sponsorships typically receive exactly what they pay for—except in the case of NASCAR races (which show evidence of increases in share prices). Splitting the sample into new and renewing sponsorships generates results which differ dramatically by sport. Finally, a cross-sectional regression finds congruence of sport and sponsor, sponsorship by high tech firms and sponsorships by large firms all correlated with perceived sponsorship success.     

Market Orientation, Innovativeness, Product Innovation, and Performance in Small Firms

Most research on market orientation, innovation and performance is related to big enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In this study a model is developed to investigate the combined effect of market orientation and innovativeness on product innovation and company performance, for small firms. A specific feature of our research is that we use an objective measure for product innovation in contrast to the self-reported measures commonly used in research on innovation. To test our model data from 152 rose growers were used. This study's results show that the owner's innovativeness permeates all variables in the model and has a positive influence on market orientation, innovation, and performance. An interesting research result is also that customer market intelligence influences product innovation positively or negatively, depending on whether the innovativeness of the owner in the new product domain is weak or strong.     

Applications of business analytics in healthcare

The American healthcare system is at a crossroads, and analytics, as an organizational skill, figures to play a pivotal role in its future. As more healthcare systems capture information electronically and begin to collect more novel forms of data, such as human DNA, how will we leverage these resources and use them to improve human health at a manageable cost? In this article, we argue that analytics will play a fundamental role in the transformation of the American healthcare system. However, there are numerous challenges to the application and use of analytics: the lack of data standards, barriers to the collection of high-quality data, and a shortage of qualified personnel to conduct such analyses. There are also multiple managerial issues, such as how to get end users of electronic data to employ it consistently to improve healthcare delivery and how to manage the public reporting and sharing of data. In this article, we explore applications of analytics in healthcare, barriers and facilitators to its widespread adoption, and ways in which analytics can help us achieve the goals of the modern healthcare system: high-quality, responsive, affordable, and efficient care.     

Behaviours and entrepreneurial intention: Empirical findings about secondary students

This paper aims to identify some factors that may be explaining differences among secondary students in start-up intentions. For that, the study develops an entrepreneurial intention model sustained by the use of Azjen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (TBP). Using a sample of students aged between 14 and 15 years old, a questionnaire based on the Li?án and Chen’s Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire was administrated. The purpose is to test a model of entrepreneurial intention using structural equations. The findings point that TPB is an appropriate tool to model the development of entrepreneurial intention through pedagogical processes and learning contexts. The education and training should centre itself much more in changing personal attitudes than in knowledge. Moreover, it is desirable that an entrepreneurship educational programme could contribute to the development of competences related to entrepreneurship, social and civic skills, and cultural awareness.