Working time flexibility components and working time regimes in Europe: using company-level data across 21 countries

Working time flexibility comprises a wide variety of arrangements, from part-time, overtime, to long-term leaves. Theoretical approaches to grouping these arrangements have been developed, but empirical underpinnings are rare. This article investigates the bundles that can be found for various flexible working time arrangements, using the Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work–Life Balance, 2004/2005, covering 21 EU member states and 13 industries. The results from the factor analyses confirmed that working time arrangements can be grouped into two bundles, one for the employee-centred arrangements and second for the employer-centred arrangements, and that these two bundles are separate dimensions. We also tested the stability of the factor analysis outcome, showing that although we find some deviations from the pan-Europe and pan-industry outcome, the naming of the components as flexibility for employees and flexibility for employers can be considered rather stable. Lastly, we find three country clusters for the 21 European countries using the bundle approach. The first group includes the Northern European countries along side Poland and Czech Republic, the second group the continental European countries with UK and Ireland, and lastly, the southern European countries with Hungary and Slovenia.     

The relationship between leader-member relations,job satisfaction and organizational commitment in international tourist hotels in Taiwan

The tourism industry is an indicator of the degree of internationalization and modernization of a country; and hotels are a key part in the tourism industry. According to studies on foreign tourists to Taiwan, expenses for international hotels make up the major portion of the tourists' total costs. Hence, international hotels play a significant role in the industry. The population for this study is 60 international hotels approved by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau. The sample is formed by 24 of these hotels. A questionnaire survey was conducted and 303 valid replies were received. The research analyzes cause and effect relationships among leader-member relations, as well as organizational commitment and job satisfaction utilizing structural equation modeling. The results show that job satisfaction is the mediating variable between organization commitment and leader-member relations.     

Moderators of the negativity effect: Commitment,identification, and consumer sensitivity to corporate social performance

Numerous studies have identified constructs such as commitment and brand familiarity as moderators of negativity effects. However, boundary conditions for this moderation have yet to be identified within a retailing context. This study tries to rectify this gap in the literature. This study finds that three factors (commitment, consumer–company identification, and consumer sensitivity to corporate social performance) moderate attitude change toward a retailer following exposure to moderately negative (vs. positive) publicity. However, given extremely negative information, the buffering effects of the moderating factors disappear, and attitude changes are significant for all consumers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Has the introduction of S&P 500 ETF options led to improvements in price discovery of SPDRs?

This study sets out to investigate trading in Standard and Poor's Depository Receipt Trust Series I (SPDR) options and the impact on the price‐discovery process of SPDRs. The empirical results reveal a significant rise in liquidity within the SPDR market following the introduction of SPDR options. Furthermore, the results also show that the introduction of SPDR options has led to a significant improvement in the information share of SPDRs, and that the contribution of SPDRs to price discovery has become very close to that of E‐mini index futures. These findings imply that developments in the derivatives market can lead to improvements in market quality, including the level of liquidity and price discovery of the underlying securities. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 32:683–711, 2012     

Interpersonal Relationship,Service Quality,Seller Expertise: How Important Are They to Adolescent Consumers?

Drawing upon social capital theory and psychosocial development theory, this paper argues that a true buyer–seller relationship is a key determinant of favorable consumer behaviors for adolescent consumers of hairstylist services. Other important determinants include quality of the service delivery process (i.e., service quality as measured by the five SERVQUAL factors) and quality of the core service (in this case, the hairstylist's expertise). A survey of 350 adolescent consumers confirms these predictions. It shows that a true interpersonal relationship negatively moderates the positive effects of service quality on consumer satisfaction with, and overall assessment of the hairstylist. This negative moderating effect is labeled resource substitution benefit and the argument made that this is the fourth social capital benefit. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Linking international adaptation strategy,immigrant effect,and performance: The case of home–host and cross-market scenario

Previous studies suggest that a proper fit between business strategy and human resource management can enhance a firm's financial performance. Building on prior findings, this study proposes that an ideal match could occur on the choice of international adaptation strategy and immigrant effect (IE). This match would have a significant effect on firms’ financial performance. The proposed framework is examined using the experience of 121 firms operating across the Greater China region in the home–host and cross-market scenarios. It is found that the extent of adaptation strategy is positively associated with the choice of IE in both home–host and cross-market scenarios and that IE has significant direct and indirect effects on market share and profitability in the cross-market scenario. This study proposes a new strategy–human resource management-performance framework. The findings established provide some implications for researchers and managers.     

An overview of Asian equity markets

This study overviews the development of 11 Asian equity markets, namely, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Prior to the onset of the global financial crisis, the Asian stock exchanges were generally bullish, underpinned particularly by China's robust economic performance. Innovations in financial products and services have been growing in importance, as stock exchanges in these countries have been making a concerted effort to introduce new features and best practices, with the objectives of raising market efficiency, enhancing service quality, and generally bringing operations up to par with international standards. But the potential to realize or support market efficiency can only be possible within an adequate legal framework, a sound market infrastructure, and appropriate corporate governance mechanisms. Thus, many challenges are still to be overcome in the region.     

Measuring the development impact of a proposed transportation system

This paper introduces a methodology of measuring economic development impact incident to a proposed transportation system and provides an empirical result of such estimation. As the methodology, a Multi-Regional Variable Input-Output (MRVIO) model is introduced, and as a case study, the proposed Coosa River Navigation project is discussed. The Coosa River project when completed is expected to reduce the cost of shipping commodities from origin to destination, and such reduction in shipping costs will stimulate the economy of the Coosa River Corridor, the Gulf-Coast Region, the Rest of Alabama, and the Remainder of the U.S. The empirical measurement was done in terms of industrial outputs, personal income, and employment of each of 31 industries in four regions in decennial years starting in 1990 and ending in 2039     

The Profitability of Trading Strategies Based on Book Value and Earnings in Hong Kong: Market Inefficiency vs. Risk Premia

Using a sample of Hong Kong firms, we have examined the relative and incremental usefulness of book-to-price ratio (B/P), and earnings-to-price ratio (E/P) for providing profitable trading strategies or for predicting stock returns. Our results show that trading strategies based on B/P or E/P yield significant excess returns for various holding periods up to two years, and that B/P and E/P are not only individually but also incrementally useful for predicting stock returns. Further, results of various tests indicate that trading profits observed from the B/P strategy are likely to be a result of B/P proxying for risk differentials, while those from the E/P strategy are related to gains from exploitation of market inefficiency or mispricing. The two ratios appear to capture different aspects of firm value in Hong Kong.     

COST-VOLUME-PROFIT ANALYSIS UNDER UNCERTAINTY WHEN THE FIRM HAS PRODUCTION FLEXIBILITY

This study examines the behavior of the firm which faces uncertainty in demand but can adjust its output once the uncertainty is resolved, using contingentclaims analysis. The paper finds that (i) the optimal output of the firm with ex post adjustment capability is less than that of the firm without production flexibility; (ii) the optimal ex ante output increases with the higher interest rate; (iii) the greater the marginal cost associated with the expost adjustment and/or salvage value, the greater the optimal ex ante output; and (iv) the effect of demand volatility and production lead time on the optimal ex ante output could be either positive or negative. Based upon the study's findings, some important managerial decision implications are discussed.