Ownership structures of U.S. joint ventures in the 1980S

A firm's choice between sole and joint ventures in a foreign market is subject to various market-specific and firm-specific influences. This study draws upon the transaction cost and bargaining power theoretical frameworks to identify and measure some of these influences. A logistic regression model was employed to examine the relative influences of the main and interaction effects of the independent factors on ownership structures employed for new foreign subsidiaries by U.S. firms in the 1980s.     

Learning from Neighbours

When payoffs from different actions are unknown, agents use their own past experience as well as the experience of their neighbours to guide their decision making. In this paper, we develop a general framework to study the relationship between the structure of these neighbourhoods and the process of social learning.
We show that, in a connected society, local learning ensures that all agents obtain the same payoffs in the long run. Thus, if actions have different payoffs, then all agents choose the same action, and social conformism obtains. We develop conditions on the distribution of prior beliefs, the structure of neighbourhoods and the informativeness of actions under which this action is optimal. In particular, we identify a property of neighbourhood structures—local independence—which greatly facilitates social learning. Simulations of the model generate spatial and temporal patterns of adoption that are consistent with empirical work.     

Are Donor Countries Giving More or Less Aid?

The volume of foreign aid has increased during the last four decades, albeit with interruptions in certain years. Over time, the major recipients have changed: while the share of aid to Asia has diminished since the 1980s, that destined for sub‐Saharan Africa has grown. There is some evidence that, since the late 1990s, debt relief has assumed a larger share of the increased aid flows to sub‐Saharan Africa. The share of technical cooperation—a component of aid that is viewed as being driven by donors—has risen. More recently, there has been an increased emphasis on providing budget support to recipient governments, especially in the form of debt relief. Donor harmonization, national ownership of development plans, and sound policies on the part of the recipients are crucial for the aid to be effective in reducing poverty.     

Customer Experience in Online Shopping: A Structural Modeling Approach

Online retail's rapid growth in India has triggered both untapped growth opportunities and challenges to maintain consumer “stickiness” to retailer websites. In this context, online customer experience (OCE) has emerged as a strategic differentiator for sustainable competitive edge. However, there is a paucity of empirical research in this field. Therefore, drawing on extant literature and qualitative research of online shoppers, this study proposes an integrated model of OCE with antecedents, components, and outcome variables. Data for this study were collected from Indian online shoppers; the data are empirically tested along with the moderating effect of time availability on OCE. Results of the study largely support the model and contribute to knowledge creation on OCE in the Indian context and to strategy development for online retailers.     

Influencing the influencers: a theory of strategic diffusion

The growth of the Internet and assorted technologies has made it possible to collect and process detailed information on social networks. This article investigates how firms (and governments) can harness the power of social networks to promote their goals. We show that the optimal use of social networks leads to higher sales and greater profits. However, an increase in the level and dispersion of social interaction can increase or decrease the optimal influence strategy and profits of the player, depending on the content of the interaction. Optimal influence strategies will target individuals with low or high connections, depending on the content of interaction. Finally, the returns to investing in market research on social networks are greater in more unequal networks.     

How does the corporate bond market value capital investments and accruals?

This paper examines whether the mispricing of accruals documented in equity markets extends to bond markets. The paper finds that corporate bonds of firms with high operating accruals underperform corporate bonds of firms with low operating accruals. In the first year after portfolio formation, the underperformance is 115 basis points using an accrual measure that includes capital investments and 93 basis points using an accrual measure that is based only on working capital investments. The Sharpe ratios of the zero-investment bond accrual portfolios are comparable to those of the corresponding zero-investment stock accrual portfolios. The results are also robust to risk adjustments based on both a factor model consisting of the Fama and French (J. Financial Econ 33 (1993) 3) stock and bond market factors and a characteristics model based on bond ratings and duration. Cross-sectional Fama–MacBeth regressions that use individual bond data and control for stock and bond issuances in addition to ratings and duration also confirm the time-series portfolio findings. Overall, our results reveal an accrual anomaly among bonds similar to that observed among stocks.

Understanding consumers' perspectives on food labelling in India

This study aims at identifying the factors influencing consumers' perception on food labelling and its impact on food purchase decision making, through personal interviews of 631 respondents using a structured questionnaire. To analyse the consumers' perceptions on food labelling, factor analysis has been carried out to identify the underlying dimensions among a set of food labelling attributes using the principal component analysis. Based on factor analysis, four sets of components/factors have emerged, that is, (i) serving method; (ii) quality and nutrition; (iii) production and storage; and (iv) product identification, which explain 66.271% of the variance. Logit regression analysis indicates that among the socio‐demographic indicators, the estimated coefficients for gender, education, income and location of residence are statistically significant. Similarly, information on quality and nutrition, production and storage processes, and basic information of the product is found to be significant, implying that these factors are more likely to influence the use of food labels in making informed purchase decisions by the consumers. The findings of the study give practical insights on food labelling issues for the food processors and policy makers.     

REAL AND DISTRIBUTIVE EFFECTS OF PETROLEUM PRICE LIBERALIZATION: THE CASE OF INDONESIA

The effect of higher petroleum prices on the aggregate price level, real growth, and income distribution is appraised within a multisector computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. A reduction in the government subsidy raises petroleum prices and production costs throughout the economy. Consumer demand, production, and income decline as output prices increase and consumer purchasing power decreases. The model is applied to and calibrated for Indonesia. The simulated results predict a slight increase in the price level and a slight decrease in output. An important result is that urban household groups will be the most significantly affected by the subsidy reduction.