Housing Markets in China and Policy Implications： Comovement or Ripple Effect

The overheated housing market has recently become a top priority of the Chinese authorities and whether the ripple effect exists is key to understanding this housing issue. The present paper uses a cointegration estimation technique for six first-tier Chinese cities during the 2003-2013 period to show that the comovements among housing prices in China are fully reflected in a long-run equilibrium. Using the Toda- Yamamoto causality test, the ripple effect is found to be characterized by a lead -lag relationship. More importantly, it is found that Beo＇ing is the main source of housing price appreciation in China, and should be targeted as the regulatory object to efficiently resolve the troubles in this increasingly high housing-price era.     

Asset Liquidity and Stock Liquidity: International Evidence

This study examines the relationship between asset liquidity and stock liquidity across 47 countries. In support of the valuation uncertainty hypothesis, we find that firms with greater asset liquidity on average have higher stock liquidity. More importantly, our study shows that asset liquidity plays a more significant role in resolving valuation uncertainty in countries with poor information environment. For example, we find that the asset–stock liquidity relationship is stronger in countries with poor accounting standards. We further find evidence that after the adoption of IFRS, the improved accounting information environment results in a weaker asset–stock liquidity relation, but only in countries with a strong legal regime. Finally, our study shows that the positive asset–stock liquidity relationship may be attributed to transparency and/or liquidity reasons.     

The moderating effect of collectivistic orientation in psychological empowerment and job satisfaction relationship

This study examines the moderating effect of collectivistic value on the relationship between psychological empowerment and job satisfaction. Specifically, we propose that the multi-dimensional psychological effects of empowerment (i.e., meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact) on job satisfaction differ between high and low collectivistic employees. Data collected from hotel employees in Canada (n = 193) and China (n = 371) revealed that collectivistic orientation elevated (attenuated) the effect of self-determination (impact) on job satisfaction. However, no significant results were found with respect to meaning and competence. Research and practical implications for the findings as well as directions for future research are suggested.     

The Impression Management Techniques of Tour Leaders in Group Package Tour Service Encounters

For group package tour settings, tour leaders may consciously or unconsciously utilize impression techniques to interact with groups. This study examines the impression behaviors of tour leaders based on a framework of five discrete techniques of impression management (ingratiation, self-promotion, exemplification, supplication, and intimidation). The findings of this study indicate the impressions of tour leaders as perceived by tourists can influence the personal interaction quality. Furthermore, the personal interaction quality can subsequently influence the repurchase intention of tourists, word-of-mouth communication, as well as the reputation of tour operators. The implications for tour operators and directions for future research are also discussed.     

Managerial Overconfidence and Share Repurchases

Following prior studies, we use keywords in press portrayals to gauge managerial overconfidence. We hypothesize that managerial overconfidence is related to a manager's perception that the firm is undervalued. Results from 2744 share repurchase programs launched by 783 listed firms in Taiwan confirm this hypothesis. We find that managerial overconfidence is positively correlated with the intensity of share repurchasing, which is measured by scale, execution, frequency, and the difference between the announced price and post‐execution price. Moreover, the programs launched by overconfident managers were not undervalued and therefore were associated with reduced post‐announcement returns.     

Industry equilibrium with random exit or default

An industry consisting of a large number of small price taking firms subject to idiosyncratic productivity shocks is considered. At the moment of entry, a firm takes on debt. We show that in a competitive equilibrium, some firms exit and pay out their debt while others choose to default. The outcome depends on the realization of firm‐specific shocks. The paper demonstrates that if the firms self‐select between exit with debt repayment and default, then the default region is disconnected from the exit region. The methodological contribution of the paper is the analytical characterization of the long‐run equilibrium for two scenarios of the initial distribution of productivity shocks. We consider two public policy mechanisms—contract enforcement and creditor protection. Our policy recommendation is that regulators need to reduce the contract enforcement if they want to decrease the long‐run default rate.     

Understanding undergraduate students’ experience: a content analysis using NSSE open-ended comments as an example

This study demonstrates how a qualitative content analysis method may be used to help understand undergraduate students’ experience. We examine and rationalize the methodological concerns regarding content analysis of open-ended comments in the qualitative study. We describe a data analysis technique, using qualitative responses from National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) as an example, and highlight the findings in a thematic way to convey how undergraduate students perceive issues that challenge them to develop skills, awareness, and confidence, as well as the potential factors that influence student engagement and future success. Finally, we provide potentials of how these findings can be utilized to improve student experience, limitations of this study as well as suggestions for future research.     

Efficiency and productivity comparisons between outsourcers and non-outsourcers: Evidence from a metafrontier production function with endogenous switching

This paper aims to compare productivity and technical efficiency (TE) between outsourcers and non-outsourcers with an empirical methodology that accounts for both heterogeneous production technologies and non-random sample separation. Using plant-level data on six two-digit manufacturing industries in Taiwan over the period 2002–2005, the endogenous switching regression and the stochastic metafrontier methodology enable us to generate TE scores that are comparable across production units that operate under different technologies without the standard assumption in the literature that the outsourcing status is out of the control of the plant and that outsourcers and non-outsourcers use the same technology. We find that outsourcers are, on average, more technically efficient and technologically advanced than non-outsourcers. Productivity differences account for the lion's share of the outsourcer–non-outsourcer output gap.     

Deconstructing the internal structure of perceived authenticity for heritage tourism

Abstract

Although modern society is more inclined to view authenticity from a postmodernist perspective, few quantitative studies on heritage tourism explored existential authenticity in detail. This study deconstructs authenticity into three components – object-related, intra-personal, and inter-personal – and then constructs a complete model by exploring each component’s internal structures, asking to what extent travel motivation is an antecedent and loyalty, a consequence. Data were obtained from 1,088 valid survey questionnaires distributed in Pingxi, Taiwan. Study findings confirmed the reliability and validity of the items used to measure the construct of authenticity. Regarding the internal structure of authenticity, intra-personal authenticity plays a mediating role between object-related authenticity and inter-personal authenticity, and this inter-personal authenticity may be the final value that tourists perceive. Compared with recent related studies, this model more comprehensively explains the degree of variation in loyalty, reflecting its importance for heritage tourism management and marketing. If a destination remains authentic, tourists are willing make a return visit. Authenticity may enable tourism managers to strike a balance between preservation and development when achieving the long-term goal of sustainable development.