Price correlation and granger causality tests for market definition

The static price correlation test for determining the relevant product and geographic market is critically examined and then extended to (arguably) localized markets for products such as cement, gravel, sand, crushed stone, concrete, and asphalt products. The empirical results lead to the conclusion that the price correlation test is as generally applicable for testing for local markets as it is for testing for citywide or larger markets. The Granger causality model is used alternatively to test market definition empirically. The results suggest that the Granger causality test may be a useful supplement to the price correlation test in delineating markets.     

Security analysis, agency costs, and UK firm characteristics

The paper examines the monitoring power of security analysts from the manager-shareholder conflict perspective. Our evidence supports the view that security analysis acts as a monitoring mechanism in reducing agency costs for smaller as opposed to larger firms. Moreover, we also find evidence that security analysis has a positive and significant impact on firm value only for smaller firms. These findings support the proposition that, as firms grow larger and more complex, the monitoring activity of security analysis becomes less effective. Our evidence also shows that the monitoring role of security analysts is not restricted to the US capital market environment.     

Customer-supplier partnerships: Perceptions of a successful key account management program

Key account management (KAM) is regarded as one of the significant marketing trends over the last few years. This study investigated the perceptions of suppliers and key account customers regarding the success factors of customer-supplier partnerships. The results are reported from a survey of 92 suppliers and 98 key account customers. Analysis of the results indicates that suppliers and their key account customers have similar perceptions of the key success factors in the customer-supplier partnership. Finally, recommendations for the development or improvement of a KAM program are presented.     

The costs of job redesign: a preliminary analysis

John Kelly examines and rejects the claim that job redesign satisfies the mutual interests of workers and employers through its provision of improved job satisfaction and performance. He investigates the costs to the parties involved which have been almost invariably neglected.     

Expectations in the German hyperinflation reconsidered

Data on forward foreign exchange rates during the German hyperinflation after World War I provide direct observations of expected changes in the spot rate. Although levels of these forward rates seem to be efficient predictors of the spot rate, the predicted changes in the spot rate are biased downward substantially and do not meet the specific conditions of rationality. Indeed, the bias in the forward rate predictions is similar to bias in adaptive expectations of the spot rate. The behavior of the forward rate can be rationalized as a gradual market adaptation to a new regime of volatile and escalating inflation, reasonably represented by adaptive expectations. The strict definition of rational expectations needs to be broadened to allow for the difficulty of distinguishing between permanent and transitory shocks.     

Import dynamics and demands for protection

What kinds of changes in foreign competition lead domestic industries to seek import protection? To address this question, we use detailed monthly US import data to investigate changes in import composition during a 24‐month window immediately preceding the filing of a petition for import protection. A decomposition methodology allows a comparison of imports from two groups of countries supplying the same product: those that are named in the petition and those that are not. The same decomposition can be applied to products quite similar to the imports in question, but not subject to a petition. The results suggest that industries typically seek protection when faced with a specific pattern of shocks. First, a persistent positive relative supply shock favours imports from named countries. Second, a negative demand shock hits imports from all sources just prior to domestic industries’ petition for protection. The relative supply shock is a broad one; it applies both to named commodities and to the comparison product group. The import demand shock, by contrast, is narrow, hitting only named products. This negative import demand shock appears to be a key event in the run‐up to the filing of a petition. This latter shock has been missed by previous studies using more aggregated data.     

Restructuring in tourism: the accommodation sector in a major British coastal resort

This paper examines the restructuring of tourist accommodation in a major British coastal resort through a case study of Torbay, Devon. The extent and nature of restructuring is established through an examination of business failures, conversions to alternative uses and investment in new facilities. The motivations and influences on the decision‐making underpinning the restructuring process are related to competitive and defensive strategies adopted by the owners and managers of accommodation businesses. A small core of businesses have apparently made no discernible response to the pressures of restructuring, and it is argued that the existence of such inertia represents a significant issue for studies of the longer term development and realignment of resort economies. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.