Serious leisure among older gardeners in Australia

Activities such as gardening are fast becoming acknowledged as a much desired health management strategy in later life. However, few studies have examined gardening as a serious leisure pursuit. The aim of this study was to apply the concept of serious leisure to the context of leisure gardening by older adults in Australia. Casual, participant and devotee gardeners were compared with respect to the relative importance of the characteristics of serious leisure, using self-administered questionnaires (n = 514). Findings indicated that characteristics of serious leisure varied significantly across the three groups. The most powerful discriminating characteristics were Identity, Unique Ethos and Significant Effort; with Identity particularly important for devotee gardeners. The deeper the level of engagement, the more gardening was perceived as contributing to overall life satisfaction. Findings indicated that gardening could be a serious leisure pursuit that assists in the development of a positive leisure identity and contributes to a more mobile and active life for older adults.     

Customer desire expectations about service employees: An analysis of hierarchical relations

This article proposes a hierarchical model of customers' desire expectations about service employees, and of the motivations underlying the expectations. The model is based on recent developments in means–end chain theory. A paper-and-pencil laddering methodology is applied to collect data among 231 customers in Austria concerning their desire expectations about service employees of clothing stores. Additive tree and social network analyses reveal three orientations in customer desire expectations, covering the process, outcome, and relational aspects of service encounters. Meanings within orientations are mutually linked and hierarchically organized from desire expectations about specific service employees' behaviors, via customer goal attainments and feelings, to behavioral responses. Implications for service marketing theory and practice are offered. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Processes and effects of targeted online advertising among children

Increasingly, information from children's profile pages on social network sites is being used to target online advertising, a phenomenon known as profile targeting. This practice has raised concerns in society and academia; however, its effects among children remain unstudied. Therefore, we investigated the effects of profile targeting on children's brand responses (i.e., brand attitude and purchase intention). We examined two types of targeting: targeting of product and of form (i.e., color). In addition, we tested three underlying mechanisms: liking the advertisement, perceived personal relevance of the advertisement, and recognizing the targeting aspect of the advertisement (targeting recognition). A between-subjects experiment among 231 children aged 9–13 years showed that targeting the product leads to more positive brand attitudes and purchase intentions. In addition, the effects were explained by ad liking and not by perceived personal relevance or targeting recognition. These findings suggest that, unlike adults, children do not process profile targeting on an elaborate critical level. Rather, the processing seems to be less elaborate.     

Organizational antecedents and competitive consequences of environmental proactivity in the hotel industry

This research simultaneously examines the influence of organizational design variables (specialization, decentralization, formalization, link mechanisms, and informal social relations) on environmental proactivity, and the impact of this environmental proactivity on the competitiveness of hotels. The joint analysis of causes and consequences of environmental proactivity, and the relationship between organizational design and environmental management are topics that have rarely been explored in the literature. Using structural equation modeling methodology, a model is empirically tested using a survey instrument that was distributed to hotels in Spain. The findings indicate that specialization, formalization, link mechanisms, and informal social relations are effective coordination mechanisms to foster environmental proactivity. Moreover, the most effective way of encouraging the implementation of environmental practices is formalization. The findings also show that environmental proactivity contributes to improving competitive advantage in terms of both cost and differentiation.     

How far can reduced childcare prices push female labour supply?

Exploiting exogenous variation in childcare prices stemming from a childcare price reform, this paper estimates effects of reductions in childcare costs on female labour supply. The reform introduced a cap on childcare prices, and lead to considerable reductions in prices depending on family type and region of residence. Since the price is determined by a handful of observed characteristics, we are able to match households that are similar in all relevant aspects, but experienced quite different price changes. Our difference-in-differences regression matching estimates are very precise, and close to zero.     

Similarities and convergence in G-7 cycles

This paper examines the properties of G-7 cycles using a multicountry Bayesian panel VAR model with time variations, unit specific dynamics and cross-country interdependences. We demonstrate the presence of a significant world cycle and show that country specific indicators play a much smaller role. We detect differences across business cycle phases but, apart from an increase in synchronicity in the late 1990s, find little evidence of major structural changes. We also find no evidence of the existence of a Euro specific cycle or of its emergence in the late 1990s.     

Share Repurchases,Dividends and Executive Options: the Effect of Dividend Protection

We study the determinants of share repurchases and dividends in Finland. We find that higher foreign ownership serves as a determinant of share repurchases and suggest that this is explained by the different tax treatment of foreign and domestic investors. Further, we also find support for the signalling and agency cost hypotheses for cash distributions. The fact that 41% of the option programmes in our sample are dividend protected allows us to test more directly the ‘substitution/managerial wealth’ hypothesis for the choice of distribution method. When options are dividend protected, the relationship between dividend distributions and the scope of the options programme turns to a significantly positive one instead of the negative one documented in US data.     

Universities and intellectual property rights in Southern European countries

This paper analyses and discusses the patenting activity of Public Research Organizations (PROs) in Southern European countries. Despite the importance of the topic, studies about the European experience are rare. By using an original database of “American” (USPTO) and “European” (EPO) patents held by PROs in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece, we observe that the number of university patents in these countries has not increased dramatically during the last years, despite a growing interest at both European and national level during the same period. However, differences do exist among countries in terms of number of granted patents and regulative frameworks. With regard to PROs patenting strategies, we argue that PROs should be progressively able to adopt a “balanced” approach, in order to achieve co-existence between the traditional mechanisms of the so-called “open research system” and the more recent concerns about intellectual property protection, technology transfer and regional development.     

A Comparison of Models Describing the Impact of Moral Decision Making on Investment Decisions

As moral decision making in financial markets incorporates moral considerations into investment decisions, some rational decision theorists argue that moral considerations would introduce inefficiency to investment decisions. However, market demand for socially responsible investment is increasing, suggesting that investment decisions are influenced by both financial and moral considerations. Several models can be applied to explain moral behavior. We test the suitability of (a) multiple attribute utility theory (MAUT), (b) theory of planned behavior, and (c) issue-contingent model of ethical decision making in organizations. In an experimental setting, 141 participants traded company shares in a computerized asset market. Over 12 periods, companies varied in morality (i.e., treatment of employees) and in profitability (i.e., expected dividends per share). Participants’ bids and asks for shares were recorded. Results indicate that moral considerations influence investment decisions, controlling for profit. Differences between the three models are discussed.     

Governance and Globalisation

Unlike the large literature on ‘democracy and trade’, there is a much smaller literature on the effect of the level of democracy in a nation on the level of its foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow. These few studies reveal mixed empirical results, and surprisingly only one study has examined bilateral FDI flows. Moreover, few of these studies use multiple governance indicators separating the ‘pluralism’ effect of democratic institutions from the ‘good governance’ effect, there are no studies on democratic institutions’ various effects on the level of FDI relative to trade, and there are no studies of democratic institutions’ various effects on the selection of countries into FDI. We focus on three contributions. First, we examine the simultaneous effects of the World Bank's (six) Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGIs) – which allow separating the effects of pluralism from those of five other good governance measures – on bilateral trade, FDI and FDI relative to trade using state‐of‐the‐art gravity specifications. Second, we find strong evidence that – after accounting for host governments’ effectiveness in various roles of good governance – a higher level of pluralism as measured by the WGIs’ Voice and Accountability Index reduces trade levels, likely by increasing the ‘voice’ of more protectionist less‐skilled workers, but not FDI levels. Moreover, we find qualitatively different effects of other WGIs – such as political stability – on trade versus FDI flows. Third, we account for firm heterogeneity alongside a large number of zeros in bilateral FDI flows using recent advances in gravity modelling. We distinguish between the (country) intensive and extensive margins and show that pluralism affects FDI inflows negatively at the intensive margin, but positively at the extensive margin.