The governance of the Boscombe Artificial Surf Reef,UK

The Boscombe Artificial Surf Reef (ASR) is the first ASR in Europe and is the flagship project of an ambitious scheme to regenerate Boscombe Spa, a resort-suburb of Bournemouth, UK. The Boscombe ASR therefore presents a unique coastal management challenge in Europe for which there is no precedent and little pre-existing management capacity. Through a multi-stage research process, this paper identifies the likely governance challenges that will face the Boscombe ASR. These were found to include overcrowding, a lack of surf skill and etiquette amongst visitors, conflict between different uses, and localism. Through a consideration of approaches to surf governance elsewhere, suggestions are identified for management interventions that may work in Boscombe. The paper concludes by identifying underlying tensions between the need to attract visitors to support the regeneration of Boscombe, the surf safety issues created by an influx of novice surfers, and the potential for the breakdown of the norms governing the self-regulation of surfing.     

Measuring self‐regulated learning in the workplace

In knowledge‐intensive industries, the workplace has become a key locus of learning. To perform effectively, knowledge workers must be able to take responsibility for their own developmental needs, and in particular, to regulate their own learning. This paper describes the construction and validation of an instrument (the Self‐Regulated Learning at Work Questionnaire) designed to provide a measure of self‐regulated learning (SRL) behaviour in the workplace. The instrument has been validated through a pilot study with a cohort of 170 knowledge workers from the finance industry. Results indicate that the five scales of the instrument are reliable and valid, testing a broad range of sub‐processes of SRL. The instrument can be used to identify knowledge workers who demonstrate different levels of SRL in workplace contexts for further exploration through qualitative studies and could also provide the basis of professional development tools designed to explore opportunities for self‐regulation of learning in the workplace.     

Building the minimum wage: the distributional impact of Germany’s first sectoral minimum wage on wages and hours across different wage bargaining regimes

The first minimum wage in Germany was introduced in 1997 for blue-collar workers in sub-sectors of the construction industry. In the setting of a natural experiment, blue-collar workers in neighboring 4-digit industries and white-collar workers are used as control groups for differences-in-differences-in-differences estimation based on linked employer–employee data. Estimation results reveal a sizable positive impact on mean wages in East Germany, but no significant effect in West Germany. Size and significance of effects are neither homogeneous across wage regimes (individual vs. collective contracts) nor across the distribution. The patterns suggest a compression in the lower part of the wage distribution and spillover effects to wages where the minimum is not binding, even in West Germany, where the bite of the MW was low. No effects on hours of work or substitution between workers of different qualification levels are found.     

Do‐It‐Yourself Projects as Path toward Female Empowerment in a Gendered Market Place

The role of women as homeowners and heads of households are changing the dynamics in which women engage in do‐it‐yourself (DIY) behavior. Because there is limited extant theory associated with female involvement in DIY behavior, a qualitative study using in‐depth interviews was conducted. Through grounded theory analysis several themes emerged during the coding process, and the themes of empowerment were especially relevant to the informants in this study. Five dimensions of empowerment were identified: empowerment through project initiation, production mastery, adding economic value to goods and services, unleashing creative potential, and empowerment through ownership. The findings show women's involvement in DIY behavior and the consumption of DIY‐related goods is closely tied to the concept of female empowerment.     

Explaining pro-environment consumer behavior in air travel

Some airlines and airports have begun offering a voluntary carbon offsetting service. This article examines the behavior of passengers with respect to their preparedness to compensate for CO₂ emissions. Responses from an online-survey of air travelers suggest severity, self-perception, and importance are positively related to willingness-to-compensate. How passengers perceive their self-effectiveness in reducing CO₂ emissions does not affect willingness-to-compensate, but influences likelihood of compensating directly.     

A Comparison of Ecolodge Patrons' Characteristics and Motivations Based on Price Levels: A Case Study of Belize

Ecolodges are an increasingly popular accommodation form. This study determined the demographic and trip characteristics, as well as the travel motivations of ecolodge patrons at three different price levels: budget, mid-price and upscale. Six ecolodges were studied in the Cayo District of Belize. Of 480 questionnaires distributed at the ecolodges, 331 valid surveys were returned (68.9% response rate). The clients of the Belizean ecolodges had some demographic characteristics similar to those of ecotourists found in other studies: middle-aged, highly educated, and employed with high levels of income. This study found consistency amongst the three groups in the most important travel attraction motives, with tropical forests and wilderness/undisturbed nature ranked highest by all groups. The study also showed consistency amongst the three groups with regards to travel social motives, with learn and explore nature the top-ranked social motive by all groups. The study found significant differences amongst the price levels on many variables, including: age, country of residence, education, employment status, income, party composition, trip length, length of stay at the ecolodge and level of ecolodge experience. There were important differences found in travel motivations and the importance of ecolodge attributes. The mid-price group was the hardest to please; they wanted a lower price, yet desired the quality, services and programmes of the upscale group.     

Appropriability regime for radical and incremental innovations

In the present day markets, new product development and innovation are essential for value creation. Innovation, however, hardly provides benefits if rivals are able to copy it with little or no extra cost. Consequently, being able to build an appropriability regime that provides effective protection against imitation and enables getting returns on investments in innovation is necessary. The problem is that choosing the methods to protect different kinds of innovations is not straightforward. In this paper we study appropriating from radical and incremental innovations. It is widely known that many significant differences exist between the two innovation types, and the appropriability conditions are no exception. Empirical evidence on the topic is provided by analyzing survey data collected among 299 companies. As a result, the effects of environmental dynamism and research and development (R&D) intensity on radical and incremental innovation are illustrated, and knowledge is provided on the role of the appropriability regime in enhancing the potential to profit from radical and incremental innovations.     

Social capital as a heuristic device to explore sociocultural sustainability: a case study of mountain resort tourism in the community of Steamboat Springs,Colorado, USA

This study investigates the feasibility of combining environmental protection and an agricultural revitalisation strategy which includes food tourism in two Danish national parks, Mols Bjerge and Skjern Aadal. Both the parks include significant agricultural holdings and, to a great extent, a “natural” landscape of farmed grassland and arable land. The international research literature documents that park administrations have tended to neglect the role of food and food-based experiences in parks, despite park visitors preferring more attractive eating facilities, purchasing opportunities and food-related interpretation. A survey of food producers and providers in Denmark revealed that traditional, productivity-oriented farmers tended to oppose the establishment of parks, holding the view that “sharing” the land with others diminished their competitiveness. While this view might hamper rapid progress in food tourism, the survey also discovered an emerging trend of small-scale food entrepreneurship, albeit on a fragmented and uncoordinated level. Tourism-oriented food entrepreneurs wanted to see joint marketing and labelling of food products along the lines of OECD's (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) “new rural paradigm”. The study identified governance opportunities that could accommodate the wellbeing of both tourists and food producers, but which requires a proactive role from the national park authorities, especially in marketing and the development of events.     

Economies in transition and in development: A possible warning from Adam Smith

Abstract

If Adam Smith were asked about transitioning and developing economies today, one may infer, he might suggest introducing small, yet constant, opportunities for wealth accumulation, avoiding the sudden accumulation of riches. Good institutions and the moral rules often needed to comply with them are more likely to be disregarded if there are large, sudden material gains, such as new wealth generated by the sudden opening of markets or government granting monopolies. For Smith, the desire to show off in front of others can inhibit moral behaviour and respect for good institutions, generating perverse incentives that hinder growth. Gradual change is to be preferred.     

Rapid internationalisation enabled by the Internet: The case of a knowledge intensive company

In this paper we will show how knowledge intensive firms can quicken their internationalisation by using the Internet as a sales channel. When properly applied the Internet can provide a way to decrease the effects of liability of foreignness and resource scarcity, and herewith contribute to an increased speed of internationalisation. The focus of the empirical research is on a Finnish knowledge intensive company and the development of its international operations and sales channels. The study applies the longitudinal case study method when examining in-depth the development of Futuremark Corporation for a period of five years.