Rationally mispriced assets in equilibrium

We present a simple model of trading in a financial market where agents are asymmetrically informed and information is transmitted through the price system. We characterize the equilibrium for this economy and show that ‘rational mispricing’ of assets occurs if the price system fails to reveal the insider information accurately. It is argued that the communication of wrong information through equilibrium prices is compatible with full rationality on the part of the investors and may explain deviations from the efficient markets hypothesis.     

Agentenbasierte Simulation zur Analyse und Lösung betriebswirtschaftlicher Entscheidungsprobleme

Complex systems frequently reveal decision problems which cannot be addressed by classical analytical or optimization methods. Markets consisting of players that interact with heterogeneous goals or enterprises with multi-faceted intertwined processes are typical examples of such systems within the global economy. During recent years, the agent-based simulation (ABS) has spread as a technology that helps to simulate such systems and better understand their inner causes and effects. In this work, we present the potential of ABS with respect to business applications and review a broad set of case studies from academia as well as from corporate practice. To conclude, we analyze the application process for the utilization of an ABS, spanning from the conception and modeling to implementation and the processing of the simulation.     

‘Blame it on marketing’: consumers' views on unsustainable consumption

This paper addresses consumers' attitudes towards consumption, the extent to which excessive consumption is perceived as an environmental problem and what consumers perceive as their personal responsibility vs. that of marketing for this consumption. Findings from a focus group and a survey administered to lecturers of a university in Portugal are reported. A critical reflection upon the findings reveals that participants view consumption as excessive and mostly due to marketing, but do not associate high levels of consumption with environmental damage. The consumers surveyed did not accept personal responsibility for excessive consumption, and many of them do not perceive their actions to have a significant impact on the environment. The high educational level of our sample makes these findings of particular concern. This paper feeds the debate on sustainable marketing and expresses the need to address consumers', as well as marketing's, place in sustainability. Implications of this study are drawn and directions for future research are suggested.     

Responsible Leadership in Global Business: A New Approach to Leadership and Its Multi-Level Outcomes

The article advances an understanding of responsible leadership in global business and offers an agenda for future research in this field. Our conceptualization of responsible leadership draws on deliberative practices and discursive conflict resolution, combining the macro-view of the business firm as a political actor with the micro-view of leadership. We discuss the concept in relation to existing research in leadership. Further, we propose a new model of responsible leadership that shows how such an understanding of leadership can address the challenges of globalization. We thereby propose positive outcomes of responsible leadership across levels of analysis. The model offers research opportunities for responsible leadership in global business.     

„CFOs sind sehr gut positioniert — objektiv und unabhängig?”

Praxis / Artikel

„CFOs sind sehr gut positioniert — objektiv und unabh?ngig?” Interview mit Gerrit Steen, CFO der Fresenius Kabi AG     

Political cycles in Greece’s municipal employment

We consider the politically motivated fluctuations in Greece’s municipal employment, constructing a data-set from primary data and focusing on the composition of municipal employment in terms of employment relationship forms. Our analysis produces strong evidence of pre-electoral manipulation through increases in the number of contract employees. Considering a number of control variables and robustness checks does not affect the key results. Such variables include whether mayors run for reelection, incumbents’ political alignment with central government, partisan shifts, general elections, mayors’ turnover rate, and timing patterns. Our evidence provides insights into Greece’s political economy in the run-up to the current economic crisis.     

(Un)fair Delegation: Exploring the Strategic Use of Equity Rules in International Climate Negotiations

We provide a new approach for identifying a strategic use of equity arguments in international (climate) negotiations. We first develop a theoretical model of strategic delegation which accounts for both environmental as well as equity preferences. We show that the strategic use of equity arguments qualitatively depends on the extent to which environmental preferences can be misrepresented: representatives from different countries may be expected to have similar equity views rather than widely differing perceptions of a fair share. Based on survey data on climate negotiations, we then provide empirical evidence for differences between equity preferences of citizens from Germany, China, and the U.S. and the perceived view on the position of their respective countries.     

Casting light on energy efficiency: evidence on consumer inattention and imperfect information

We investigate consumer inattention and imperfect information regarding the financial benefits of energy-efficient lighting using a randomized controlled trial with 1084 observations. Results suggest that subjects generally know about cost savings of light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs – the central lighting technology of the future – but largely underestimate the magnitude of these savings. As a result, stated willingness-to-pay for an LED bulb increases on average by 2.53€ through the provision of information on expected lifetime costs. Additional evidence hints at further consumer confusion about attribute differences between lighting technologies.