Commitment and Lapse Behavior in Long‐Term Insurance: A Case Study

This article presents a case study of a portfolio of individual long‐term insurance contracts sold by a Spanish mutual company. We describe the risk levels, the rating structure, and the implied cross‐subsidies on a portfolio of policies providing health, life, and long‐term care insurance. We show evidence of reclassification risk through the history of disability spells. We also analyze the lapse behavior and seek to provide a rationale for the portfolio’s dynamics. We discuss the lack of commitment from the policyholders (lapses) and from the mutual company (which took a run‐off decision). Finally, we draw conclusions regarding the design of such contracts.     

Technical and vocational teaching and training in Gabon: how future teachers build their vocational identity?

The professionalism of teachers is based on three levels of expertise: mastering academic knowledge, mastering the teaching of this knowledge and mastering the role played by teachers in schools. For each of these levels, each student during the teacher training courses has his own understanding. This understanding influences their perception of the job of teacher and thus their attitude towards their training. Efficiency of this training could be evaluated through the evolution of this understanding. The experimental part of this study will involve looking at this evolution with students from the ENSET in Libreville at the beginning of the training course, the end of the first cycle and the end of the second cycle. Data collected shows that training does not really produce the desired results for a university vocational teacher training course for technology education.     

Long-term trends in weather-related crash risks

This study explores whether automobile travel during inclement weather has become more or less risky over the past two decades. The analysis is based on the integration of two government databases and a matched-pair framework for comparing casualty rates under different weather conditions for 10 Canadian cities. The most notable result is a downward trend in relative risk during rainfall from 1984 to 2002 – both overall and when further disaggregated by injury severity combined with precipitation amount, city group, and time of day. By contrast, the overall relative risk of casualty during snowfall shows no significant change over time.     

Can Federal Grants Mitigate Social Competition?

The European economic integration leads to increasing mobilityof factors, thereby threatening the stability of social transferprograms. This article investigates the possibility to achieveby means of voluntary matching grants both the optimal allocationof factors and the optimal level of redistribution in the presenceof factor mobility. We use a fiscal competition model a la Wildasin(1991) in which states differ in their technologies and preferencesfor redistribution. We first investigate a simple process inwhich the federal authority progressively raises the matchinggrants to the district choosing the lowest transfer and alldistricts respond optimally to the resulting change in transfersall around. This process is shown to increase efficiency ofboth production and redistribution. However, it does not guaranteethat all districts gain, nor that an efficient level of redistributionis attained. Assuming complete information among districts,we derive the willingness of each district to match the contributionof other districts and we show that the aggregate willingnessto pay for matching rates converges to zero when both the efficientlevel of redistribution and the efficient allocation of factorsare achieved. We then describe an adjustment process for thematching rates that will lead districts to the efficient outcomeand guarantee that everyone will gain. (JEL Classification:H23, H70)     

Supply structure: The pendulum in action

Using an in-depth longitudinal case study based on an “historical retrospective”, this article focuses on how some factors (“drivers”) set into motion the pendulum of change in supply structures, a research theme neglected in the supply field. It examines, over a 20-year period, the changes made to the supply structure of a well-known organization. The data comes mainly from: (a) semi-structured interviews with 21 managers and professionals within eight operating units, and (b) documentary analyses of the archives. This article shows how to map structural changes of the supply function, while explaining the nature and the causes of these changes. Understanding the pendulum movement from one supply structure to another can be very valuable, as well for academics as for managers.     

Why and when organizational culture fosters affective commitment among knowledge workers: the mediating role of perceived psychological contract fulfilment and moderating role of organizational tenure

Drawing on Denison and Mishra (1995)’s framework of organizational culture, this study examines why and when organizational culture is related to knowledge workers’ affective commitment. Data were collected from 640 employees working in three high-technology companies in China. The findings indicate that the relationship between organizational culture and affective commitment is mediated by perceived psychological contract fulfilment. In addition, organizational tenure moderates the relationship between two external dimensions (i.e. adaptability and mission) of organizational culture and perceived psychological contract fulfilment. This study extends the current theoretical framework of organizational culture by demonstrating the underlying mechanism and the boundary condition of the relationship between organizational culture and affective commitment. The findings also provide practical implications for international managers to design appropriate human resource management policies and practices in China.     

The burden of glory: Competing for nonmonetary incentives in rank‐order tournaments

In an environment in which elite, highly paid professionals compete for nonmonetary rewards, we find evidence of underperformance. Our analysis suggests that choking under pressure from high‐stakes nonmonetary rewards is behind the underperformance. This implies that high stakes nonmonetary rewards can create meaningful pressure on individuals and lead to worse performance, a distinct issue that has yet to be adequately examined. These findings come from an examination of the behavior of top U.S. golfers competing to earn a place on the U.S. Ryder Cup team via their performance in PGA Tour tournaments with differing allocations of Ryder Cup qualifying points.     

Can the North American ski industry attain climate resiliency? A modified Delphi survey on transformations towards sustainable tourism

As global temperatures increase, does accelerating climate change represent an existential crisis or a manageable challenge for the ski industry? Despite considerable evidence demonstrating the global ski industry is in the early stages of a climate-induced transition, global research on ski industry stakeholder perspectives shows varied levels of climate risk awareness, a focus on future vulnerability, and limited engagement in adaptation. Within North America, research has focussed on the physical climatic impacts to ski operations and possible skier responses, yet there lacks insight into industry perceptions on current and future climate vulnerability. This study fills this important knowledge gap using a Delphi survey to engage 52 leaders from across the continent in a dialogue on strategic climate responsiveness. Results demonstrate North American ski industry leaders’ climate risk perceptions range widely, and opinions diverge over if or how to respond at both an industry and destination scale. Simultaneously, industry experts believe mountain tourists increasingly value nature-based activities, place-bound products, and corporate responsibility. Analysing industry leaders’ responses through Enlightened Stakeholder theory highlights how aligning supply-side environmental management with demand-side tourist experiences may create opportunities for new partnerships, innovations, policies, and strategies needed to achieve climate-resilient and sustainable futures.     

Changes needed in agricultural policy for female-headed farm families in tropical Africa

The decline in per-capita agricultural production has been reversed somewhat in tropical Africa by the structural adjustment programs which have increased producer prices, liberalized marketing and devalued currencies. But the 30% of smallholder farm households which are female-headed will not be assited much due to their special constraints of shortages of labor and credit, lack of extension visits and appropriate labor-saving technologies. For these households, the authors argue, improved extension services, credit for agricultural inputs, small ruminant animals and poultry, labor-saving devices and craft inputs will be necessary to increase their incomes and levels of living.