ON THE LOWER ARBITRAGE BOUND OF AMERICAN CONTINGENT CLAIMS

We prove that in a discrete‐time market model the lower arbitrage bound of an American contingent claim is itself an arbitrage‐free price if and only if it corresponds to the price of the claim optimally exercised under some equivalent martingale measure.     

The importance of consumer characteristics and market structure variables in driving multiple store patronage

The purpose of this study is to investigate multiple store patronage. Specifically, the aim is to relate the number of stores patronized to a set of consumer characteristics and market structure factors, according to a cost–benefit approach. Data from a sample of 1000 shoppers indicate that only few consumer characteristics impact on multi-store patronage pattern for grocery purchases (gender and shopping activity perception). Moreover, the number of stores operating in the market proved to be an important determinant of patronage set size. Implications for retailers are discussed with suggestions for future research.     

Individual career initiatives and their influence upon professional expertise development throughout the career

The present study describes the relationship between three individual predictor variables and the degree of professional expertise of higher level employees in three different career stages. Professional expertise is operationalised by means of five dimensions, i.e. knowledge, meta‐cognitive knowledge, skills, social recognition and growth and flexibility. The factors in question are: the degree of participation in social networks, the degree of participation in training and development programmes and the degree of initiatives that are taken by the individual employee to further career growth. Hypotheses have been tested with original survey data from 420 higher level employees and 224 direct supervisors. The results indicate that the focus of attention is, in general, restricted to the employee’s present contribution and to the familiar job domain. Activities aimed at enlarging the outlook are virtually non‐existent. That is to say, management is preoccupied with instrumental leadership, i.e. aimed at the here‐and‐now and less future‐oriented, instead of appropriate people management.     

How does firm diversification impact innovation?

This study sheds light on the relationship between business diversification and innovation. A diversification strategy is both a driver of sunk costs and strategic slack. Strategic slack is a valuable reserve of knowledge, usable to foster innovation. Using linear models, we explore the interplay between research and development (R&D) and organisational slack in large and diversified companies listed on the Euronext 100 Index. We consider the diversification pattern over time, and its interactions with the following three categories: sunk costs, slack resources, and R&D. The results show an antithetic effect of diversification and slack on R&D expenditures. In contrast to unabsorbed and potential slack, diversification and sunk costs hinder innovation. However, diversification is a huge source of strategic slack and, thus, has a positive effect on innovation, indirectly.     

On relative and partial risk attitudes: theory and implications

This paper develops context-free interpretations for the relative and partial Nth degree risk attitude measures and show that various conditions on theses measures are utility characterizations of the effects of scaling general stochastic changes in different settings. It is then shown that these characterizations can be applied to generalize comparative statics results in a number of important problems, including precautionary savings, optimal portfolio choice, and competitive firms under price uncertainty.