Persistence and non-linearity in US unemployment: A regime-switching approach

This article examines persistence and nonlinearity in the US unemployment rate in the post-war period by using a regime-switching unit root test. The empirical results indicate that a regime-switching unit root test outperforms conventional unit root tests and describes unemployment behavior better over the business cycle in the sample. While shocks to US unemployment dissipate in expansions, shocks to the unemployment rate seem to be persistent in recessions, supporting the hysteresis hypothesis. This is consistent with the usual explanation of hysteresis that workers may lose valuable job skills in protracted recessions.     

Achieving Customer Satisfaction through Integrated Products and Services: An Exploratory Study

Complex products such as manufacturing equipment have always needed maintenance and repair services. Increasingly, leading manufacturers are integrating products and services to generate increased revenues and achieve customer satisfaction. Designing integrated products and services requires a different approach to new product development and a clear understanding of how customers perceive the value they obtain from actual usage of products and services—so‐called value‐in‐use. However, there is a lack of research on integrated products and services and how they impact customer satisfaction. An exploratory study was undertaken to understand customers' views on integrated products and services and the value‐in‐use derived from such offerings. As value‐in‐use and its impacts are complicated concepts, a technique from psychology—Repertory Grid Technique—was used to gather data in 33 interviews. The interviews allowed a deep understanding of customer views on integrated products and services to be obtained, and a systematic analysis identified the key attributes of value‐in‐use. In order to probe further, the data were then analyzed using Honey's procedure, which identified the impact of the attributes of value‐in‐use on customer satisfaction. Two key attributes—relational dynamic and access—were found to have the most influence on customer satisfaction. This paper contributes to the innovation field by identifying customer needs for integrated products and services and how these impact customer satisfaction. These are key points and need to be fully considered by managers during new product and service development. Similarly, the paper identifies a number of important areas for further research.     

Love my selfie: selfies in managing impressions on social networks

This study aims to provide insights on personal branding and impression management practices in the context of selfie production and sharing on online social networking sites (oSNSs). The theoretical framework of the study was constructed according to Goffman’s ‘Dramaturgy Theory’ and Belk’s ‘Digital Extended Self’ theory. Four constructs; de-materialization of photography, co-construction of the self, sharing economy of digital media and online social networks, and distributed memory were included in the study. The results of the literature review were further explained according to the production and consumption of selfies. This study provides detailed information about how selfies can be used as a mediator for purposes of self-extension and personal branding. Even though selfies are seen as an everyday activity and a raw presentation of the subject, they also include extra contextual information about the subject. The results of the study exert that selfies shared online can be used as a tool for impression management in oSNSs.     

Income Heterogeneity in the Voluntary Provision of Dynamic Public Goods

This paper explores the effect of income inequality on the voluntary contributions to a dynamic public good. We find that income heterogeneity has a significant impact both on contributions and welfare. The results show that the often observed decay of cooperation does not carry over to the asymmetric environment considered in this study. Our results also suggest that subjects in each income class make different contribution amounts in an absolute sense and give the same percentage of their income. Moreover, we find that contributions of individuals with the same endowment are sensitive to how heterogeneous the environment is.     

Fading attraction: Turkey's shifting relationship with the European Union

In this paper, we examine Turkey's changing economic relations with the European Union (EU) and the rest of the world during the past few decades. We argue that a combination of the EU's reluctance to accept Turkey as a member, internal economic and political developments, and the rise of economic and political opportunities elsewhere have shifted the country to diversify its economic relations around the world and reduced its reliance on the ties with Europe. This shift, which had started long before the 2008 global financial crisis and accelerated in its aftermath, seems to have helped Turkey weather relatively well the recent economic storms in Europe.     

Asymmetric government expenditure: a comparison of advanced and developing countries

This paper studies the responsiveness of government expenditures to business cycles and introduces an index of asymmetric government expenditures using panel data for advanced and developing countries during the period 1981–2014. The empirical findings show that government expenditures tend to be procyclical in developing countries but acyclical in advanced economies. In addition, it is found that government expenditures respond in a countercyclical manner during bad times in advanced countries, but in a strongly procyclical manner during good times in developing countries. The index of asymmetric government expenditures for developing countries tends to be higher than that of the advanced countries.     

Aiming to connect: the business case for diversity in public organizations in The Netherlands

This paper examines the effectiveness of diversity policy and interventions in the Dutch public sector and shows that business case interventions can affect employees’ commitment to their organization, contributing to staff retention rates and improving overall performance. Leadership style, as well as organizational culture, are shown to play a crucial role in the effectiveness of the interventions that were analysed.     

THE TENURE GAME: BUILDING UP ACADEMIC HABITS*

Why do some academics continue to be productive after receiving tenure? This paper answers this question by using a Stackelberg differential game between departments and scholars. We show that departments can set tenure rules and standards as incentives for scholars to accumulate academic habits. As a result, academic habits have a lasting positive impact on scholar's productivity, leading to higher productivity growth rates and higher productivity levels.     

Insider trading in an equilibrium model with default: a passage from reduced-form to structural modelling

We study, in the framework of Back [Rev. Financial Stud. 5(3), 387–409 (1992)], an equilibrium model for the pricing of a defaultable zero coupon bond issued by a firm. The market consists of a risk-neutral informed agent, noise traders, and a market maker who sets the price using the total order. When the insider does not trade, the default time possesses a default intensity in the market’s view as in reduced-form credit risk models. However, we show that, in equilibrium, the modelling becomes structural in the sense that the default time becomes the first time that some continuous observation process falls below a certain barrier. Interestingly, the firm value is still not observable. We also establish the no expected trade theorem that the insider’s trades are inconspicuous.      

Satisfaction With All-Inclusive Tourism Resorts: The Effects of Satisfaction With Destination and Destination Loyalty

Despite the fact that all-inclusive package holidays play a major role in the tourism developments of sun and sea destinations, relatively little research has been done within the hospitality literature to investigate the relationships between satisfaction with all-inclusive, destination satisfaction and loyalty to a destination. Moreover, the measurement of satisfaction with all-inclusive resorts is lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine relationships between satisfaction with all-inclusive resorts, satisfaction with destination, and destination loyalty, in order to understand the generation of tourist satisfaction with all-inclusive resorts. Based the previous theoretical and empirical evidence in the related literature, a questionnaire survey was conducted during summer 2008 at Antalya, a major sun and sea tourism destination of Turkey. The data were analyzed using several statistical techniques. The results suggested that there were significant relationships between satisfaction with all-inclusive resorts, satisfaction with destination and destination loyalty. It is also noteworthy that an all-inclusive package tour is the most popular traveling mode for tourists visiting Antalya.