Do Evaluative Pressures and Group Identification Cultivate Competitive Orientations and Cynical Attitudes Among Academics?

Journal of Business Ethics - This article theorizes and analyzes how two aspects of the increasing accountingization of academia in the form of evaluative pressures and group identification,...     

The new fitness geography: the globalisation of Japanese gym and fitness culture

Using a minor case study of the local fitness culture scene in Tokyo, Japan, this exploratory and qualitative article aims to discuss and analyse the consequences of globalisation of fitness culture. The article focuses particularly on how fitness culture is negotiated in Japanese society – at a national, local and subjective level, and in relation to attempts to uniformly rationalise and standardise gym and fitness culture. The results indicate that the fitness geography is changing, and through the establishment of a globalised fitness culture, Japanese youth are following in the footsteps of many other countries. However, this does not mean that we are witnessing a homogenisation process, or a completely McDonaldised version of fitness culture in Japan. Instead, this cultural phenomenon is shaped and formed in particular ways, pointing towards certain strong national sentiments concerning body ideals, views on gender and exercise and relaxation. For example, the cuteness ideal has a strong influence on the way young women talk about and perceive body ideals and corporeal performances in Japan.     

Aid,Aid for Trade,and bilateral trade: An empirical study

In a gravity model for 184 countries between 1990 and 2005, we show that bilateral aid is not only positively correlated with donor exports, as suggested in earlier studies, but also positively associated with recipient exports to donors. Our interpretation is that an intensified aid relation reduces the effective cost of distance. We find a particularly strong effect of aid in the form of technical assistance. The effect of trade-related assistance (Aid for Trade) is small and fully accounted for by aid to investments in trade-related infrastructure. The aid-trade link is particularly strong for donor exports to Sub-Saharan African countries and for recipient exports of strategic materials.     

Institutionalization of risk and safety management at the local governmental level in Sweden

The starting point for this article is the need for empirical knowledge about organizational configuration for societal risk and safety management activities in a modern welfare society. In this paper, we use Sweden as an empirical frame to analyze the administrative management structure at the local governmental level. The analysis is based on statistical analysis of information from a web‐survey with administrative chief/head officials (n = 1283) with responsibilities for different municipal functions and sectors. The sample represented 25% of the Swedish municipalities (n = 290) and the response rate was approximately 60% (n = 766). The responses to two sets of questions (25 and 45 questions) are used for statistical analyses of management structures and task distribution within the municipal organizations. Principal component factor analyses with Varimax and Kaiser's Normalization was applied as a structure detection method. The results indicate a clear and uniform way to institutionalize societal risk and safety management at the local level. Furthermore, the management course of action is found to have different types of value characters. The implications that arise from the patterns identified in this study are considered to be of general relevance and topicality for research and practice in this area.     

Clustering,MNEs, and Innovation: Who Benefits and How?

Abstract

This paper explores three under-researched questions in the literature on multinational enterprises (MNEs), clustering, and innovation. First, to what extent does multinationality lead to higher rates of innovation activity and performance? Second, what, if any, is the link between MNE cluster location and innovation inputs and outputs? Third, are there any significant differences between enterprises belonging to domestic and overseas MNEs in these regards? Evidence is based primarily on 11,775 firms derived from the UK Community Innovation Survey 2007. Diversity in the regional economy exerts the most consistent positive influence, followed by the scale of employment in the enterprise’s own industry. Enterprises belonging to domestic MNEs appear to exert higher levels of innovation effort. However, evidence regarding their superiority in innovation outputs was weaker. Contrary to Michael Porter’s work, it appears that enterprises belonging to overseas firms benefit more than domestic firms.     

Natural resources damages from Chernobyl

Conclusion In this note, we have reported a simple attempt to examine the stability over time of willingness-to-pay measures. By running a simple regression equation, we are able to explain why the average willingness to pay fell between two consecutively hunting seasons. The most important explanation is that hunting in the second hunting season was affected by the nuclear radiation accident at Chernobyl. Almost 10 percent of the hunters stated that their willingness to pay was affected due to the fact that their moose meat was contaminated. Since there are 24,000 moose hunters in the county of Västerbotten, we arrive at a yearly loss of about SEK 2 million for the county. Assuming that our figures apply also at the national level, Swedish moose hunters suffered a loss of almost SEK 30 million in the 1986 hunting season. If the same impact on hunters was felt for, say, 3 to 4 years, the present value of the loss caused by the Chernobyl accident could amount to over SEK 100 million (assuming a discount rate of 5 percent). This is a considerable amount, given that Swedish moose hunters constitute only a small fraction of all those who were affected by the Chernobyl accident.     

The importance of employer contacts: Evidence based on selection on observables and internal replication

I estimate effects of the labor market training program “Swit” on employment using both register and survey data. Swit was initiated in an attempt to increase the supply of qualified personnel in the IT sector. Based on the register data I find a large positive effect from the Swit on employment as compared to conventional programs directed towards IT. By also using survey information I conclude that the effect was due to increased employer contacts. The result is of interest because of the relatively large effect especially for individuals with traditionally weak positions on the labor market. Furthermore, I methodologically demonstrate how information about the contents of the programs may corroborate findings based on conditional independence assumptions.     

The price responsiveness of housing supply in OECD countries

The responsiveness of housing supply to changes in prices bears important implications for the evolution of housing prices and the speed of adjustment of housing markets. Based on a stock-flow model of the housing market estimated within an error correction framework, this paper estimates the long-run price elasticity of new housing supply in 21 OECD countries. Estimates suggest that the responsiveness of housing supply to price changes varies substantially across countries. It is relatively more flexible in North America and some Nordic countries, while it is more rigid in continental European countries and in the United Kingdom. The responsiveness of housing supply depends not only on national geographical and urban characteristics but also on policies, such as land use and planning regulations.     

The impact of control strategies on the management of returnable transport items

This research examines the impact of different control strategies on the management of returnable transport items (RTIs) in closed-loop supply chains. A simulation model is developed based on an empirical case and is used to explore different scenarios. The results suggest that the choice of control strategy has a significant impact on investments and operating costs, and that RTI shrinkage can be controlled either through the use of tracking systems, or choice of control strategy. Moreover, a simulation-based method for estimating the fleet size required to operate the system for the different strategies is presented.