Building pragmatist theories of PM practice: Theorizing the act of project management

This article examines project management through the lens of practice. Drawing on the literature, we develop a typological model that brings together four distinct theoretical types of project management practice. Adopting a deliberately critical perspective, we show that the first three types propose a weak conception of the logical relationship between the theory and practice of project management. In contrast, the fourth type, anchored in a pragmatist conception of the theory‐practice link, provides the potential to build strong theories of project management practice. A specific objective is to elucidate the distinct features of the fourth type of theory.     

Supply management and household poverty in Canada

The regulation of the Canadian dairy and poultry industries through production quotas (also known as supply management) is widely believed to result in higher consumer prices that disproportionately impact poorer households. Using the most recent Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (Statistics Canada 2013), we estimate the number of Canadians pushed below the poverty/low-income threshold as a result of this policy as ranging between 133,000 and 189,000 individuals.     

Business marketing in France: can the case be made for “French exceptionalism” or is it just a slight variation?

Purpose: The aim of this article is to elucidate the state of B-to-B marketing research in France by conducting a review of theoretical and empirical studies in this field that have been published over the last three decades.

Methodology/approach: Authors identified relevant literature sources, and proceeded with classifying the publications according to their main theme of study (as determined by reviewing the topic, the abstract, and/or keywords). To extract the main articles, authors explored multiple electronic databases, including Source Premier (EBSCO), Elsevier Science Direct, Google Scholar, and Cairn.info. This methodology has allowed comparisons both in time and in relation to similar works done in other countries. The analysis focuses on the main contributions of French literature in the B-to-B domain and establishes that progress has been made in understanding the issues of B-to-B marketing in France, as well as in the development of the theory in this field.

Findings: The review shows that B-to-B marketing research in France, although under-represented in relation to its B-to-C counterparts, is gradually emerging from the shadows and covers important topics that are increasingly diverse and varied. By identifying the main topics studied by French B-to-B marketing researchers, this work advances this academic discipline while also providing valuable information.

Originality/value: This study is the first attempt to conduct an in-depth examination of the state of B-to-B marketing research in France. Findings yielded by this literature review would be beneficial to both B-to-B marketing researchers and practitioners and promotes this research field.     

The biological hypothesis in cliometrics of growth: a methodological critique of Fogel (post 1982) and Ashraf & Galor (2013)

The resort to biological “analogies”, “metaphors” and “concepts” is an important aspect of the history of the relationships between economics and biology and has long been greatly controversial. This controversy continues today in the most recent work of three cliometricians, i.e. Fogel (post 1982) and Ashraf and Galor (2013). We focus on the theories of historical growth relying on biological explanations which have been formulated by these economists, from the specific angle of biological reductionism. We propose a methodological critique of their use of biological variables as determinants of the historical dynamics of economic growth. Based upon the transposition to the field of economics of Ernst Mayr’s distinction between functional and evolutionary biology and his definitions of reductionism, we argue that despite some similarities, the questions raised by Fogel’s and Ashraf & Galor’s theories are of distinct nature. Nonetheless, we stress the need for a careful examination of the biological mechanisms supporting these researches.     

Means‐Tested Long‐Term Care and Family Transfers

One of the pervasive problems with means‐tested public long‐term care programs is their inability to prevent individuals who could afford private long‐term services from taking advantage of public care. They often manage to elude the means‐test net through ‘strategic impoverishment’. We show in a simple model how this problem comes about, how it affects welfare and how it can be mitigated.     

CDM 20 years after

ABSTRACT

In year 1998, the seminal paper Research Innovation and Productivity: An Econometric Analysis at the Firm Level was published in this journal. The empirical framework, following on ideas in the research of Zvi Griliches at the NBER and commonly labeled CDM (the acronym of the three authors’ names, Crépon, Duguet and Mairesse) is one of the most influential contributions in recent literature on economics of innovation. The original CDM paper and papers inspired by its framework have received hundreds of citations in the empirical innovation literature. Whether directly linked or not to the CDM framework, the flow of studies improving on and enlarging the scope and methods of the empirical literature on R&D, innovation and productivity is continuing. Some of them, for example, focus on financing innovation, innovation and employment, innovation and trade, competition, or intellectual property; some adopt a managerial perspective, while others prefer an innovation system approach in a Schumpeterian tradition, etc. This introduction to the special issue of EINT surveys a collection of 12 papers on the CDM model by 25 authors from eight countries. The papers take stock of the evolution of research based on the original CDM model launched 20 years ago, linking it to the previous literature, and proposing developments and generalizations of it in various dimensions.     

THE PRICE OF SILENCE: MARKETS FOR NOISE LICENSES AND AIRPORTS*

This article presents a market design for the management of noise pollution created by aircraft traffic around airports. A local market for noise licenses allows noise generators to compensate noise victims and to meet social acceptability. We show that the market allows the market designer to implement the social planner's optimal allocation of flights as long as the latter does not put too high a weight in his/her objective function on firms' profits compared to the disutility of noise pollution. The fact that local representatives of noise victims may be strategic players does not fundamentally alter this finding. Because of the market auctioneer's information constraints, noise licenses are likely to distribute windfall gains to residents, which alters the urban structure in the long run.     

Meeting Maastricht: Nominal convergence of the new member states toward EMU

This paper estimates whether the new member states (NMS) that joined the EU in 2004 have achieved a form of inflation and long-term interest rate convergence. Using quarterly data from the mid-1990s, convergence is evaluated through a series of unit root and cointegration tests. Both univariate and panel tests are performed, including tests for a large number of combinations of inflation and interest rates satisfying the Maastricht inflation and long-term interest rate criteria. It is generally found that nominal convergence in inflation has been attained among the NMS. There is, however, less evidence of convergence in long-term interest rates. Possible exceptions include Estonia and the Czech Republic and, to a lesser extent, Slovakia which has since joined the euro area. There is also a large degree of consistency between the various unit root and cointegration tests in both the univariate and panel variations.     

Perceived benefits of loyalty programs: Scale development and implications for relational strategies

Positive outcomes of loyalty programs are clear for firms, yet little research examines customer perceptions. To address this gap, this article investigates various perceived benefits of loyalty programs using a multi-benefit framework based on utilitarian, hedonic, and relationship literature. Two quantitative studies, involving 658 French members of loyalty programs, provide a 16-item scale that measures five types of perceived benefits: monetary savings, exploration, entertainment, recognition, and social benefits. The five dimensions have different impacts on satisfaction with the program, loyalty to the program, and perceived relationship investment of the firm. This article offers a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings for relationship marketing strategies.     

The Stability of the Demand for Money in Monetary Unions: Some Empirical Evidence from WAEMU

Previous studies of the stability of the demand for money have been largely conducted in the context of individual countries. To the extent that these countries have control over their monetary policies, such an approach is well justified. However, for monetary unions, where the control over monetary policy is usually vested in a central or outside authority, it is more appropriate to examine the stability of the money demand for the union as a collective entity. This paper follows this approach with respect to a West African monetary union, the WAEMU, whose monetary policies are largely dictated by the French authorities. Using cointegration theory and CUSUM stability tests, we find evidence that the demand for broad money is stable in this union. Given the empirical results, the paper draws inferences regarding their implications for the formulation of optimal monetary policy for the WAEMU.