Skills,core capabilities,and the choice between merging,allying, and trading assets

We analyze two firms’ choice between merging, allying, and trading assets. We consider a setting in which firms have assets, skills, and core capabilities; skills are the component of organizational capital that increases in the course of joint operations, core capabilities the component that does not. We find that the two firms trade assets for them to operate separately in case the two firms have high initial skills; the two firms merge in case they have similar core capabilities; they ally where there is little equilibrium double moral hazard. We compare the times to dissolution in the alliance with those to divesture or post-merger integration in the merger; for all but the last jointly operated asset, we find that joint operations cease earlier in the alliance than in the merger.     

Stressors,Coping Mechanisms,Perceived Supervisory Support,and Well-Being Among Nurses During Accreditation Surveys: a Study from UAE

Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal - Organizational psychology applies psychological theories to improve the physical and mental well-being of employees, increase productivity, and...     

Negotiating the Politics of Exclusion: Georges Candilis,Housing and the Kuwaiti Welfare State

In the early stages of welfare planning, the Kuwaiti state restricted equal access to its housing programs in neighborhoods outside the city. The subsequent demographic shift, caused by a Kuwaiti exodus to the ‘suburbs' and non‐Kuwaiti urban labor migration, prompted calls for housing schemes to encourage city living for citizens. Georges Candilis's proposal for a residential neighborhood in Kuwait City emerged from this context. This article examining Candilis's unrealized project also offers a critical perspective on Kuwait's unbalanced housing policies. From this analysis, it draws observations on the role of architects and their limited impact on policies established by decision‐making networks within the welfare state. Seen from this perspective, the Candilis project bears witness to broader socio‐economic agendas that privileged some groups while marginalizing or excluding others.     

The reliability of constructs derived from attitude-behavior theories: an application of generalizability theory in the health sector

Theories of reasoned action, interpersonal behavior and self-efficacy have been frequently used for research into health-related behavior. The present study investigated two methods for assessing the reliability of their theories' constructs: the test-retest method and generalizability theory. Firstly, it is demonstrated with a numerical example that the traditional test-retest coefficient has an anatomical link with the generalizability coefficient. Secondly, generalizability theory was applied in order to identify the number of occasions each construct must be measured to assure its reliability. This procedure was applied to the data collected in a study investigating the psychosocial factors influencing exercising and smoking behaviors among pregnant women. Measuring the constructs of direct attitude, habit, and intention on only one occasion was sufficient to ensure high levels of reliability. Moreover, reliability of the other constructs would be ensured if they were measured on more than one occasion.     

The Role of Accountants in Decision-Making in Lebanese Firms

The issue of accountants＇ role in decision-making has been the center of attention of lots of studies in the last decade but never did it get the adequate coverage in Lebanon. This paper studies to what extent accountants are involved in the managerial decision-making in Lebanon. Two hundred experienced accountants from all over the country were randomly selected for a questionnaire survey. This survey provides evidence as to what factors contribute to the variance of influence accountants have in managerial decision-making. The results from the questionnaires varied, but we conclude that accountants＇ involvement in new product development （NPD）, the skills that accountants have, their role in the financial analysis of the firm, and how much the finn they work for encourages them to advice on business decisions affect the degree of contribution an accountant has to decision-making. The findings of this research could be used as a reference to help in understanding the role of accounting in Lebanon by various finns and organizations.     

Computation and analysis of multiple structural change models

In a recent paper, Bai and Perron ( 1998 ) considered theoretical issues related to the limiting distribution of estimators and test statistics in the linear model with multiple structural changes. In this companion paper, we consider practical issues for the empirical applications of the procedures. We first address the problem of estimation of the break dates and present an efficient algorithm to obtain global minimizers of the sum of squared residuals. This algorithm is based on the principle of dynamic programming and requires at most least‐squares operations of order O(T²) for any number of breaks. Our method can be applied to both pure and partial structural change models. Second, we consider the problem of forming confidence intervals for the break dates under various hypotheses about the structure of the data and the errors across segments. Third, we address the issue of testing for structural changes under very general conditions on the data and the errors. Fourth, we address the issue of estimating the number of breaks. Finally, a few empirical applications are presented to illustrate the usefulness of the procedures. All methods discussed are implemented in a GAUSS program. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimal annuitisation in a deterministic financial environment

Decisions in Economics and Finance - The global reforms to public pension schemes over the last thirty years have progressively reduced individuals’ post-retirement social security income. In...     

Robust calibration and arbitrage-free interpolation of SSVI slices

Decisions in Economics and Finance - We describe a robust calibration algorithm of a set of SSVI maturity slices (i.e., a set of 3 SSVI parameters $$theta _t, rho _t, varphi _t$$...