Battle royal in biotechnology: R&D vs. product vs. process innovations

Companies regard innovation as a central element of their business. However, as not all innovation types are the same, the central question is: should their announcements bring about the same effect on performance? This article analyses potential differences in firm value derived from the innovation-type announcements ‘R&;D’, ‘product’, and ‘process’, made by intensive news-generating firms such as biotech companies. The empirical application shows a significantly positive reaction to innovation announcements, with the prospect of future innovation (‘R&;D’ investment announcements) having greater impact on firm value than ‘product’ and ‘process’ innovations. Firm experience also acts as a moderator in this innovation–performance relationship, which is particularly relevant for entrepreneurs who need to develop and send credible signals indicating the value of the firm's intangible assets to the market.     

Loan price modelling for local governments using risk premium analysis

Previous studies have highlighted the question of government loan interest as one of great current importance. Government borrowing levels are high, and reducing interest payments would generate savings to meet other spending needs and/or to lower taxation, thus supporting the sustainability of public finances. However, no previous study has presented a method for a local government to calculate its own credit risk and thus be in a position to negotiate lower interest rates on its borrowing. This article defines a financial model that enables local governments to estimate the interest rate payable on a bank loan, based on their credit risk premium, in accordance with the Basel II rules and the findings of our empirical study of large local governments.     

Is the leadership style important in R&D departments in Spanish industrial companies? An empirical analysis

This paper aims to thoroughly look into the effects of the differences between the diverse leadership styles on innovative outputs (intensive, efficient and eco-efficient) in Spanish industrial companies. A questionnaire for the factories was sent and was received between the months of September 2013 and June 2014. A total of 142 valid questionnaires were received. Several regression models were used in the empirical analysis. The results show that charismatic leadership positively induces an intensive innovative output, at the same time as it improves firms’ eco-efficient innovative output. Likewise, the individualised consideration that characterises transformational leadership makes this leadership style produce positive results on the whole group of innovative outputs considered. At the other end of the leadership spectrum, the transactional style causes negative effects on the relationship between innovative activity and innovative outputs, and more specifically, on the efficient innovative output.     

IMPERFECTLY INFORMED VOTERS AND STRATEGIC EXTREMISM

We analyze a two‐candidate Downsian model considering that voters use shortcuts (e.g., interest‐group/media endorsements) to infer candidates' policy platforms. That is, voters do not observe candidates' exact platforms but only which candidate offers the more leftist/rightist platform (relative positions). In equilibrium, candidates' behavior tends to maximum extremism, but it may converge or diverge depending on how voters behave when indifferent policywise between the candidates. When the tie‐breaking rule used by the voters is sufficiently fair, candidates converge to the extreme preferred by the median voter, but when it strongly favors a certain candidate, each candidate specializes in a different extreme.     

Stylised facts and other empirical evidence on firm dynamics,business cycle and growth

In this paper, we bring together, in a systematised fashion, the scattered empirical evidence relating firm dynamics with both short-run and long-run macroeconomic dynamics. There are numerous studies that focus on firm-level data while controlling for macroeconomic conditions. From these studies a fairly robust set of empirical regularities pertaining to entry, exit, growth and the size distribution of firms has emerged. However, the literature that focuses explicitly on the interplay between firm dynamics and the business cycle is roughly confined to the US experience and to the cyclical properties of firm entry and exit, while the studies about the relationship between firm dynamics and economic growth are limited and unsystematic. We also give a brief account of the most recent theoretical literature on firm dynamics and macroeconomic dynamics, and try to relate it to the empirical findings.     

当前物价运行及其未来发展趋势

2011年8月以来,CPI同比涨幅持续回落,全年CPI上涨5．4％。从2012年物价走势看,受政策滞后效应和上年同期基数效应影响,上半年物价有望延续回落趋势,而随着政策微调和宏观经济回升,下半年物价重拾升势的可能性较大。预计2012年全年CPI涨幅为3．6％左右。综合考虑我国工业化发展阶段、刘易斯拐点与资源品价格市场化改革等因素来看,中长期内物价仍存在上涨压力。     

Attachment orientations and entrepreneurship

This research presents a theoretical model and examines it empirically to associate attachment orientations with various types of entrepreneurs. The results show clear evidence that attachment orientations not only predict an adult’s tendency to become an entrepreneur but also the type of entrepreneur he will become. Specifically, the results show that attachment anxiety is the dimension that is the most responsible for the variability of becoming an entrepreneur, while anxiety and avoidant dimensions predict his characteristics and attitudes as an entrepreneur. This paper makes five important contributions to the research of both attachment theory and entrepreneurship. First, it adds to the theoretical understanding of the psychology of entrepreneurs. Second, the attachment theory enables us to extend our understanding beyond the predictions of personality traits regarding entrepreneurial intentions in order to further predict the type of entrepreneur he will turn out to be. Third, it stresses the role of early childhood events regarding the prediction of future entrepreneurial orientation. Fourth, it uses a unique data set of real young entrepreneurs in a single industry homogenous design in Israel, which is known worldwide as a startup nation. Fifth, it focuses on the opportunity validation stage (rather than the opportunity identification of the resource allocation stages), which is often neglected in entrepreneur personality research.     

Are more risk averse agents more optimistic? Insights from a rational expectations model

We analyse a model of partially revealing, rational expectations equilibrium with diverse information, endogenous beliefs formation and uncertain distribution of risk aversion. More risk averse agents are then more optimistic. Such a positive correlation is important for collective decision analysis.     

A Market and Spatial Perspective of Health Tourism Destinations: The Hungarian Experience

Since health tourism is one of the most popular and most dynamically developing products of modern tourism, this paper aims at studying the characteristic features of health tourism destinations from a regional and spatial perspective. Accordingly, the authors would like to introduce a new approach of spatial and product analysis of tourism where the market and spatial relations and relevance of health tourism were analysed through the example of Hungary. Although the classic medical tourism centres were established on natural medical water basis, by today, due to product diversification, continuous innovation and the involvement of medical services into health tourism, the geographical embeddedness seems to disappear, thus basically restructuring the market. The methodological novelty of the research is that exceeding the classic supply–demand algorithm, we compiled a complex viewpoint system adequate to the specialities of the given product characteristics. In our study, the authors intend to survey the special characteristics of health tourism focusing on medical destinations through Hungarian examples since the country's leading position in the global market is well recognized, including medical services. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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