Brand personality in a membership‐based organisation

• This study employed Aaker's (6) brand personality framework to assess the brand characteristics of a membership based sport organisation in Australia (N=413). Factor analysis suggested that Aaker's framework did not fully capture variations in responses within the Australia sample, and that a modified version incorporating an additional dimension of Innovation was required. This modified factor structure may reflect characteristics of netball as a sport, specific sample attributes or cross‐cultural variations in the brand personality concept. Results indicate that the Netball Victoria brand is strongly associated with Competence, Sincerity and Innovation, is moderately linked with Excitement and Sophistication, and has a low connection with Ruggedness. These qualities are perceived with a high level of consistency by different respondents. The organisation's brand personality as perceived by its members provides a diagnostic which may be used to guide re‐branding, positioning and other marketing strategies. Additional research is required to assess the role and function of cultural variations in measuring brand personality.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Uncertainty avoidance,risk tolerance and corporate takeover decisions

In this paper, we examine the role of national culture in corporate takeover decisions, by arguing that managerial risk tolerance (a combination of risk aversion and risk perception), at the national level, is a cultural trait and affects the expected net synergies CEOs require. We propose a theoretical framework that links CEO risk tolerance to the expected net synergies. We empirically show that CEOs of firms located in countries with lower levels of risk tolerance, measured by Hofstede’s (1980, 2001) uncertainty avoidance score, require higher premiums on takeovers, and show that uncertainty avoidance plays a greater role in relatively large takeovers. Additional testing reveals that CEOs from high uncertainty avoiding nations engage less in cross-border/cross-industry takeovers, suggesting that uncertainty avoidance captures more the CEO’s risk perception than his/her risk aversion.     

INSIDER TRADING,REGULATION, AND THE COMPONENTS OF THE BID–ASK SPREAD

In this article we investigate the relation between insider trading regulations and the bid–ask spread. We decompose the spread into its components before and after the enactment of strict new insider trading rules in New Zealand. We find that the enactment led to a significant decrease in the information asymmetry component of the spread, which is observed mainly in illiquid and high prechange information asymmetry companies. These findings are robust to model specification. In addition, we find a decrease in the contribution of information asymmetry to price volatility.     

Concatenate coordination and mutual coordination

We tell of the evolving meaning of the term coordination as used by economists. The paper is based on systematic electronic searches (on “coord,” etc.) of major works and leading journals. The term coordination first emerged in professional economics around 1880, to describe the directed productive concatenation of factors or activities within a firm. Also, transportation economists used the term to describe the concatenation of routes and trips of a transportation system. These usages represent what we term concatenate coordination. The next major development came in the 1930s from several LSE economists (Hayek, Plant, Hutt, and Coase), who extended that concept beyond the eye of any actual coordinator. That is, they wrote of the concatenate coordination of a system of polycentric or spontaneous activities. These various applications of concatenate coordination prevailed until the next major development, namely, Thomas Schelling and game models. Here coordination referred to a mutual meshing of actions. Game theorists developed crisp ideas of coordination games (like “battle of the sexes”), coordination equilibria, convention, and path dependence. This “coordination” was not a refashioning, but rather a distinct concept, one we distinguish as mutual coordination. As game models became more familiar to economists, it was mutual coordination that economists increasingly had in mind when they spoke of “coordination.” Economists switched, so to speak, to a new semantic equilibrium. Now, mutual coordination overshadows the older notion of concatenate coordination. The two senses of coordination are conceptually distinct and correspond neatly to the two dictionary definitions of the verb to coordinate. Both are crucial to economics. We suggest that distinguishing between the two senses can help to clarify “coordination” talk. Also, compared to talk of “efficiency” and “optimality,” concatenate coordination allows for a richer, more humanistic, and more openly aesthetic discussion of social affairs. The narrative is backed up by Excel worksheets that report on systematic content searches of the writings of economics using the worldwide web and, using JSTOR, of Quarterly Journal of Economics, Economic Journal, Journal of Political Economy, American Economic Review, and Economica.     

Strategic Project Leadership ® Toward a strategic approach to project management

Strategic Project Leadership ^® (SPL) is a new approach to project management that is focusing projects on creating competitive advantage and winning in the marketplace. This approach is particularly relevant to strategic projects that are initiated to create the company's future, including almost all R&D projects. In the traditional approach, project managers and teams were typically focused on getting the job done, and meeting time and budget goals. SPL , provides a modern view. It suggests that projects are initiated for business reasons, and that just 'getting the job done' is not enough. This paper presents a mindset, a framework, and a practical, step-by-step approach on how to connect project management to business results and how to turn projects into powerful competitive weapons. The paper is based on extensive case research, of which we present six cases – three successes and three disappointments – to demonstrate the value of the SPL approach to project management.¹     

Markov-switching model selection using Kullback–Leibler divergence

In Markov-switching regression models, we use Kullback–Leibler (KL) divergence between the true and candidate models to select the number of states and variables simultaneously. Specifically, we derive a new information criterion, Markov switching criterion (MSC), which is an estimate of KL divergence. MSC imposes an appropriate penalty to mitigate the over-retention of states in the Markov chain, and it performs well in Monte Carlo studies with single and multiple states, small and large samples, and low and high noise. We illustrate the usefulness of MSC via applications to the U.S. business cycle and to media advertising.     

Destination attractiveness and travel intention: the case of Chinese and Indian students in Queensland,Australia

Destination attractiveness is an important stream of literature. Australia has been recognized as one of the world’s most attractive destinations. This study looked into international students’ perceptions of Australia as an attractive international tourism destination as well as their travel intention. A sample of 252 Chinese and Indian international students participated in the study. Students’ perceived destination attractiveness and how it influenced their travel intention, pleasure of travel and place attachment were investigated. The study also looked into perception differences between Chinese and Indian students using t-test and hierarchical regressions.     

Personal taste and family face: Luxury consumption in Confucian and western societies

East Asia is currently the biggest market for luxury and prestige brands from the West. This article examines the cultural factors that lie behind this phenomenon and, based on distinctions between Southeast Asian and Western cultures, explores how the practice of luxury consumption differs in these cultures. As part of this examination, self-concept theory is reviewed and integrated in a cross-cultural consumption model. Conceptual linkages between existing theories of materialism and conspicuous consumption are noted. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.