Assessment of Satisfaction of Local Government as a Client of the Federal Government: Case Study of the Priority Zone Development Program

This paper reports the design of a model that broadens focus of the national government index of customer satisfaction from external clients to internal clients between local and federal governmental institutions. The model for a case study of a national Mexican welfare program includes (i) generic variables, as adapted from the American Customer Satisfaction Index model for government and the variable of institutional image by findings in Mexico; (ii) specific variables, as identified through a qualitative study. The estimation technique is partial least squares. The result is a valid and reliable model that moderately explains satisfaction (R² = 0.67), perceived quality (R² = 0.60), and trust (R² = 0.41). The moderating role of institutional image is not rejected. Future research must test the resulting model in other cases to obtain an appropriate model for the Mexican User Satisfaction Index (MUSI). The Council for Science and Technology of Mexico funds this project.     

Enterprise‐level training in developing countries: do international standards matter?*

Several studies have examined the determinants of training in developing countries but few have paid attention to the potential importance of international standards such as ISO 9000 or ISO 14000 on the firm's training decision. This article examines training determinants using recent employer surveys for five developing countries: Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Morocco and Nicaragua. It finds that ISO certification status is an important determinant of training, even after controlling for other characteristics such as workers’ formal schooling, firm size, industry and foreign ownership. This points toward the importance of international standards, including product quality and production standards, for firm training. The article also discusses policy implications related to the findings and provides directions for further research.     

Evaluating Facilitated Modelling Processes and Outcomes: An Experiment Comparing a Single and a Multimethod Approach in Group Model Building

Facilitated modelling approaches have been suggested as helpful tools to support negotiation in strategic analysis processes due to their potential to facilitate cognitive change and enhance consensus and commitment with final decisions. In the present research, we developed an experimental framework to compare what two of these approaches, that is, group model building and a multimethod approach, contribute to the process and outcomes in the negotiation of strategies. In the multimethod approach, we combined strategic options development and analysis with computer simulations of the group model building approach. We explored the differences between these two modelling approaches in facilitating cognitive change, consensus and commitment by building an experimental research design with real clients, working on their organisation’s problem. Furthermore, we compared the type and content of participants’ contributions in the strategic conversation. The lessons from the experiment conducted are twofold. On one hand, the multimethod approach encouraged more divergent contributions and produced a higher degree of cognitive change than group model building (i.e., the single approach). On the other hand, group model building encouraged more contributions about content related to causes of the problem and enhanced more commitment to the final solution than the multimethod approach. Hence, the conducted experiment brings new insights into the benefits of using multimethods and possible losses resulting from such combinations. Accordingly, we have presented opportunities for further research regarding the combination of facilitated modelling approaches.     

Road traffic injuries in Colombia

Road traffic injuries are a leading public health problem in Colombia. Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users, especially in the main urban centers of Bogotá, Medellin and Cali. Data analyzed in this report include official statistics from the National Police and the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences for 1996-2000, and results of a study conducted at the National University of Colombia in 2000. Methods from the Highway Capacity Manual were used for determining physical and technical variables, and a Geographical Information System tool was used for the location and spatial analysis of the road traffic crashes. Pedestrians accounted for close to 32% of injuries and 40% of the deaths from road traffic crashes. The problem of road traffic crashes existed predominately in urban areas. In the main urban centers, pedestrians constituted nearly 68% of road traffic crash victims. The high level of risky road use behaviors demonstrated by pedestrians and drivers, and inadequate infrastructure for safe mobility of pedestrians in some sections of the road network were the main contributing factors. Major improvements were achieved in Bogotá following enhancements to the municipal transport system and other policies introduced since 1995. In conclusion, policies and programs for improving road safety, in particular pedestrian safety, and strengthening urban planning are top priority.     

Towards a new business history?

This article calls for a discussion about business history research. We advocate that the current typical approach in business history – dominantly case study analysis – maintains its prominent position, but the purpose and relevance of this type of research in the scientific method for business history is made more explicit. Moreover, the article proposes the application of additional approaches in business history, which specifically aim to develop theory and test hypotheses. These approaches are well established in the social sciences, but require adaptation to the particular needs of business history. The purpose of this article is to argue that opportunities for scientific explanations in business history are enhanced by engagement with the circle of knowledge creation where theory is confronted with empirical evidence and empirical observations feed back into theory formation.     

Comparing consumer preferences for color and nutritional quality in maize: Application of a semi-double-bound logistic model on urban consumers in Kenya

Consumer preferences for white maize in East and Southern Africa concerns developers of maize biofortified with provitamin A carotenoids, since carotenoids impart a yellow or orange coloration. Urban consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for yellow maize was estimated, using a semi-double-bounded logistic model, based on a survey of 600 maize consumers in Nairobi, Kenya, at posho mills, kiosks and supermarkets. Consumers showed a strong preference for white maize. Only a minority would buy yellow maize at the same price as white maize, and fewer consumers in the posho mills (24%) and kiosks (19%) than in the supermarkets (34%) would do so. On average, consumers need a price discount of 37% to accept yellow maize. This discount was less at the posho mills (35%) and kiosks (37%) than in the supermarkets (48%). Most respondents (76%) were aware of the existence of fortified meal and the generally showed an interest. The average premium for fortified maize was much less than the discount for yellow: 5.9% for those aware and 7.4% for those unaware. Consumer preferences were influenced by socioeconomic factors such as gender, education, income and ethnic background. Women have a stronger preference for both white maize and fortified maize than men, and consumers with more education have a stronger preference for white. Income decreases the WTP for yellow maize as well as the price elasticity, but increases the WTP for fortified maize. Consumers originating from Western Kenya have a lower preference for white, while those from Central Kenya had a stronger preference for fortified maize.     

GIRLS' SCHOOLING CHOICES AND HOME PRODUCTION: EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTAN

The article develops and estimates a dynamic structural model of girls' school-going decisions and mother's labor market participation. It seeks to determine the causes of low school participation and to evaluate alternative public policies. The model incorporates mother's education, school availability, the productivity of the girl when engaged in household production, and the potential trade-off between mother's and daughter's housework decisions. Our findings suggest that school construction is the most cost-effective program. When using monetary incentives, our results highlight the effectiveness of conditionality, as opposed to unconditional transfers, and the existence of a trade-off between maternal employment and daughter's schooling.     

A leader in an emerging new international market: the determinants of French wine exports, 1848–1938

The objective of this article is to provide an in-depth study of France's performance in the new international wine market that began to take shape from the middle of the nineteenth century. We analyse the main determinants of its success in exporting ordinary and high-quality wine using a gravity model for both types of wine. The article shows how France lost foreign markets in the ordinary wine sector, due to difficulties in maintaining its exports, which resulted from the decrease in production caused by the phylloxera plague and increasing competition from growing numbers of producers who were more efficient at producing these types of wines. However, in the high-quality wine market, French exporters enjoyed considerable success, increasing their exports thanks to their efforts to offer a product that was highly valued abroad and the use of modern marketing and sales techniques. The exports benefited from the fall in transport costs and French colonial expansion. However, exports of both products were severely affected by a series of major events, including the First World War, the Russian Revolution, Prohibition in the US, and the Great Depression. This case study of the wine market shows that the collapse of the first globalization was not the same for all products.