Rate of Return Regulation: The Case of Spanish Ports

An original model is put forward in this article to explain and consider the behavior of some of the most important public services in Spain. The cost function approach and the input distance function approach are used to estimate the existence of overcapitalization as a result of rate of return regulation. The results show that overcapitalization generated by this regulation is too significant not to be taken into account.     

Do stable strategic time periods exist? Towards new methodological and theoretical insights

This paper investigates a fundamental issue in the current research on strategic groups: the existence or non‐existence of the so‐called ‘stable strategic time periods’ (SSTPs). Our study provides new evidence by adding new methodological and theoretical insights. The research setting is the Spanish banking industry over a 15‐year period, 1983–1997. Unlike all prior longitudinal research that found SSTPs, the multi‐method procedure that we used in this study (i.e. equality of variance and covariance matrix and mean vector of strategic variables and a subsequent grouping analysis performed through the MCLUST) has led us to reject the existence of SSTPs in the industry under study. Based on these original findings, we conclude by suggesting a proposition which should be corroborated in future empirical studies on strategic groups. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Technical change in Latin American agriculture: A conceptual framework for its interpretation

The authors present a critical analysis of the ideas dominating current discussions on technological development in Latin America, and introduce a methodological framework of their own. Their perspective views technology as a social phenomenon, and incorporates social conflicts and the role of the state as variables in an analysis of technical change in agriculture.     

Nonlinear stochastic effects of substitution — an evolutionary approach

Technological innovations have been investigated by means of substitution and diffusion as well as evolution models, each of them dealing with different aspects of the innovation problem. In this paper we follow the well known research traditions on self-organisation models of complex systems. For the first time in the literature we show the existence of a specific niche effect, which may occur in the first stage of establishment of a new technology. Using a stochastic Master equation approach, we obtain analytical expressions for the survival probabilities of a new technology in smaller or larger ensembles. As a main result we demonstrate how a hyperselection situation might be removed in a stochastic picture and thresholds against the prevailing of a new technology in a step-by-step process can be overcome.     

When your contract manufacturer becomes your competitor

PC maker Lenovo started out as a distributor of equipment made by IBM and other companies; now it has formed a joint venture with IBM and will eventually affix its own logo to its computers. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) started out manufacturing vehicles for Volkswagen and GM; now it's preparing to sell its own cars in China, Europe, and North America. Lenovo and SAIC represent a host of formerly anonymous makers of brand-name products that are breaking out of their defined roles and pushing the brands themselves aside. In this article, the authors explore the double-edged relationships original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) forge with their contract manufacturers (CMs). On the one hand, an OEM can reduce its labor costs, free up capital, and improve worker productivity by outsourcing all the manufacturing of a product. The company can then concentrate on value-adding activities--research and development, product design, and marketing, for instance. On the other hand, an OEM that retains a contract manufacturer may find itself immersed in a melodrama replete with promiscuity (the ambitious CM pursues liaisons with other OEMs), infidelity (the OEM's retailers and distributors shift their business to the upstart CM), and betrayal (the brazen CM transmits the OEM's intellectual property to the OEM's rivals or keeps it for itself when the contract is up). OEMs cannot simply terminate their outsourcing arrangements--they need contract manufacturers in order to keep specializing, adding value, and staying competitive. But OEMs can manage these relationships so that they don't become weak or the CMs too strong. Doing so requires modesty about revealing trade secrets; caution about whom one consorts with; and a judicious degree of intimacy, loyalty, and generosity toward partners and customers.     

“Do You Use English in Your Daily Life?” Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Their Extramural Use of English

The aim of this research is to analyse the students’ perceptions about their extramural use of English, comparing undergraduates studying their degree in English (EMI) with those studying theirs in their native language (non-EMI) within a span of five academic years. Data collected from a Spanish University suggest that the students´s interest and perception of their possibilities of working abroad in English differ. Results also reveal key differences in the use of extramural English and suggest that exposure to reading books or watching English-language films will eventually contribute to the formation of global mindset in students. The trend of the importance of English during a five year span is also considered, for both strands of students. This study makes a contribution in the field of teaching in international business settings for high education institutions.     

The double-edged sword of purpose-driven behavior in sustainable venturing

This paper examines the relationship between purpose and purposeful organizing and how such arrangements influence the entrepreneurial journey as sustainable ventures move from idea to markets. We leverage an iterative multi-stage process-tracing design to understand the mechanisms whereby 14 different B Corp certified organizations embed purpose before, during and after the certification process. Our analyses reveal three types of venture paths for purpose-driven entrepreneurs, which are shaped by distinct imprinting sequences with three critical sensitive windows playing a pivotal role: the definition of scope of purpose, timing of purpose formalization through B Corp Certification and shifts in the source of feedback. Different imprinters occurring within the critical sensitive windows shape particular imprinting sequences triggering situations of both productive and counterproductive path development. Our results challenge the assumed linear relationship between purpose and purposeful organizing and more specifically the belief that seeking (purposeful) B Corp certification at firm foundation is necessarily productive for society and for the ventures themselves regardless of when the certification is achieved.     

Cause-Brand Community: Toward Consumer Citizenship

Brand communities have been proven to be successful with commercial brands. However, a review of the literature indicated that brand community has not been studied in charity organizations. To shed light on this issue, a qualitative research was conducted among stakeholders of an internationally well-known charity organization using three different techniques: in-depth interviews, netnography, and nonparticipant observation at the charity’s brandfest. The results suggest that cause-brand communities exist, sharing the same elements of commercial-brand communities, but the two have some unique characteristics, such as the existence of different stakeholders and small communities that demonstrate an extreme commitment, the promotion of consumer citizenship among them, and the lack of oppositional brand loyalty. A cause-brand community has important managerial implications as it helps build the charity’s brand equity; at the same time, a well-known brand supports the construction of the brand community.     

Sin sectors and negative screening

In this research, I analyse how exposure to sin sectors impacts the financial performance of socially responsible (SR) funds. I also analyse the question of whether or not these funds keep their word and are less exposed to the controversial sectors that they claim to exclude in their prospectuses. Additionally, I analyse how local political and religious factors exert an influence on the exposure of SR funds to sin sectors. Consequently, I analyse a sample comprising 136 SR mutual funds that were domiciled in the U.S. market in the period March 2017–April 2020 and who invest in domestic and global equity, of which 92 implement negative screens on at least 1 of 12 controversial activities. My results show that for seven (three) of the controversial sectors that were analysed, the exposure of SR funds to these sectors jeopardises (improves) their financial performance. Furthermore, SR mutual funds who perform negative screens tend to live up to their name and are less exposed to the sector/s that they claim to exclude. In addition, SR mutual funds managed by companies located in Democrat-leaning states are less exposed to sin sectors, and that the effect of local religiosity depends on the specific sector analysed.     

Trauma epidemiology in Puerto Rico: in-hospital morbidity and mortality from 2002 to 2011

This study aimed to describe the distribution of injury mechanisms and to assess the impact of those mechanisms on the morbidity and mortality of trauma. All patients admitted to Puerto Rico Trauma Hospital (2002–2011) for road-traffic collisions (RTCs, 5,371), gunshot wounds (GSWs, 2,946), falls (2,319), pedestrian accidents (1,652), and stab wounds (SWs, 1,073) were selected. Gunshot victims were 1.19 (95%CI: 1.07–1.33) times as likely as road-traffic victims to have an ISS ≥25. Pedestrians were 1.76 (95%CI: 1.49–2.09) times more likely to have a GCS ≤8 than road-traffic victims were. The risk of dying was 2.64 (95%CI: 2.20–3.16) times higher for gunshot victims and 1.51 (95%CI: 1.23–1.86) times higher for pedestrians compared to patients who had had RTCs. Gunshot victims and pedestrians had the worst clinical outcomes. Accordingly, these patients should receive the most aggressive clinical management. Furthermore, it is imperative to develop public health campaigns on trauma prevention.