Optimum pricing of mutual guarantees for credit

The main finding of this paper is that under financial market impediments and asymmetric information, a mutually guaranteed and correctly schemed and priced insurance credit contract should have an abnormal actuarial profit. Such a contract improves welfare by simultaneously eliminating underinvestment (UI) and overinvestment (OI) and by reducing the probability of the insurer’s ruin. This solution is relevant for mutual credit insurance agencies and international or governmental agencies interested in increasing the value creation of small and medium enterprises that suffer from limited access to equity and debt markets.     

Sovereign Debt Restructuring and Bank Capital

The focus of this paper is on the interaction between a bail-out loan decision of a bank to a sovereign borrower and the adequacy of the bank's capital. The new loan is granted on two conditions: First, it must improve the likelihood of repayment of the outstanding loan; second the bank should have adequate capital.We find that in general a positive relationship exists between capital and the bail out loan and between existing debt and the new loan. However, under certain circumstances a negative relationship exists between the bank's capital and the new loan. Empirical results support the main implications of the theoretical model.     

Autonomy and Effectiveness of Equity International Joint Ventures (EIJVs): An Analysis based on EIJVs in Hungary and Britain

The paper utilizes data collected from 34 equity international joint ventures (EIJVs) located in Hungary and 49 EIJVs located in Britain to examine the effects of autonomy on EIJV effectiveness. Study results suggest that for the total sample, permitting an EIJV to develop local HRM policies and to implement business plans independently contribute to EIJV effectiveness. Additionally, there is a positive correlation between EIJV age and effectiveness. When the samples are broken up, the results are consistent except that developing local HRM policies is not a significant factor with respect to EIJV effectiveness in Hungary. The paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating that autonomy is a multidimensional construct and by providing initial support for the development of a theory relating EIJV autonomy to effectiveness based on a hierarchy of autonomy measures. The paper also suggests a model of relative recommended autonomy levels for different EIJV activities.     

Industrial product diffusion by market segment

This article focuses on the need to forecast diffusion patterns by market segment. The usual single market forecasts may be quite inappropriate if the market is segmented. Evidence is offered, based on the marketing of a new medical technology, that the diffusion pattern does vary by segment. The marketing of new technologies can potentially be improved by planning and forecasting on a segment by segment basis.