THE ANALYSIS OF CAUSE MAPS

Cause maps are coded following many different conventions. It is therefore arguable that there can be no general approach to their analysis. Indeed the interpretation and meaning of the analysis can only be undertaken in relation to both the purpose of the research and the theoretical basis of the form of representation to be analysed, be it a cause map, network, or any other graphical picture. Given these reservations, this article outlines a number of techniques for the analysis of cause maps. In order to make the arguments about cause-map analyses concrete, the article suggests what the various analyses described might imply for an understanding and evaluation of cognitive complexity. It does not address the difficult issue relating to the status of cognitive complexity as measured in these ways but rather simply notes that they are each as plausible or more plausible than many others that are often used. Ultimately the measures are to be taken as a portfolio of indicators of the complexity of the map itself.     

Emigration intentions of Roma: evidence from Central and South-East Europe

The Roma constitute the largest, poorest and youngest ethnic minority group in Europe. Over the last few years, they have attracted unprecedented attention with the fear of massive waves of emigrants to Western European countries. Using unique comparative data from 12 Central and South-East European countries, we study the pattern and determinants of Roma emigration intentions. We find that plans to go abroad are more frequent among Roma compared to non-Roma, but the ethnic gap in emigration intentions is not explained by the more disadvantaged characteristics of Roma compared to non-Roma. Among the Roma population, potential emigrants are more educated and wealthier on average. Finally, ethnic discrimination is a very influential factor that explains the intentions to emigrate within the Roma population.     

Firm Structures and Production Networks in Intellectual Services

The key hypothesis that this paper tries to validate through a representative survey is the following: network structures in ser- vice activities correspond to a necessary form of organisation because of the specificities of these activities. The survey allows us to measure the importance of both formal relationships (within a form or a group) and of informal links between partners mobilised for the production of service. It leads toward a better understanding of the characteristics of these different organisational modes. Altogether, the research allows a better definition of one of the fields in which the consideration of net- works appears relevant. It also indicates directions for further study.     

Negotiation in Strategy Making Teams: Group Support Systems and the Process of Cognitive Change

This paper reports on the use of a Group Support System (GSS) to explore at a micro level some of the processes manifested when a group is negotiating strategy—processes of social and psychological negotiation. It is based on data from a series of interventions with senior management teams of three operating companies comprising a multi-national organization, and with a joint meeting subsequently involving all of the previous participants. The meetings were concerned with negotiating a new strategy for the global organization. The research involved the analysis of detailed time series data logs that exist as a result of using a GSS that is a reflection of cognitive theory.     

CRM bei SWISS — Balance zwischen analytischen Kundenbezie hungen und persönlichem Kundenkontakt

Auch die Airline-Industrie ist durch einen intensiven Wettbewerb und ein ver?ndertes Konsumverhalten gepr?gt. Die umfassende Verfügbarkeit von Vergleichsinformationen in neuen Medien verst?rkt diese Trends noch deutlich. SWISS als Dienstleistungsunternehmen begegnet dieser Herausforderung mit einem dualen Marketingansatz. Im Vordergrund stehen eine konsequente Vermittlung der Markenpositionierung und die Bereitstellung von Kundendaten an Kontaktpunkten.     

What if women earned more than their spouses? An experimental investigation of work-division in couples

Female specialization on household work and male specialization on labor-market work is a widely observed phenomenon across time and countries. This absence of gender neutrality with respect to work-division is known as the “work-division puzzle”. Gender differences regarding characteristics (preferences, productivity) and context (wage rates, social norms) are generally recognized as competing explanations for this fact. We experimentally control for context and productivity to investigate preferences for work-division by true co-habiting couples, in a newly developed specialization task. Efficiency in this task comes at the cost of inequality, giving higher earnings to the “advantaged” player. We compare behavior when men (or women) are in the advantaged position, which corresponds to the traditional (or power) couple case where he (or she) earns more. Women and men contribute equally to the household public good in all conditions. This result allows us to rule out some of the standard explanations of the work-division puzzle.     

Building the Theoretical Puzzle of Employees’ Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility: An Integrative Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda

Research on employees’ responses to corporate social responsibility (CSR) has recently accelerated and begun appearing in top-tier academic journals. However, existing findings are still largely fragmented, and this stream of research lacks theoretical consolidation. This article integrates the diffuse and multi-disciplinary literature on CSR micro-level influences in a theoretically driven conceptual framework that contributes to explain and predict when, why, and how employees might react to CSR activity in a way that influences organizations’ economic and social performance. Drawing on social identity theory and social exchange theory, we delineate the different but interdependent psychological mechanisms that explain how CSR can strengthen the employee–organization relationship and subsequently foster employee-related, micro-level outcomes. Contributions of our framework to extant literature and potential extensions for future research are then discussed.     

Interactive analysis of high-dimensional association structures with graphical models

Graphical chain models are a powerful tool for analyzing multivariate data. Their practical use may still be cumbersome in some respects, since fitting the model requires a lengthy selection strategy based on the calculation of an enormous number of different regressions. In this paper, we present a computer system especially designed for the calculation of graphical chain models, which will not only automatically carry out the model search but also visualize the corresponding graph at each stage of the model fit. In addition, it allows the user to modify the graph and to fit the model interactively.     

On Optimal Instrumental Variables Generators, with an Application to Hedge Fund Returns

In this paper, we propose a new benchmarking procedure lying on cumulants for computing the factor loadings in financial models of returns. We apply this technique to the well-known augmented Fama and French (J Fin Econ 43(2):153–193, 1997) model and compare it with another technique of ours based on higher moments. Our new procedure confirms the fact that the alpha is supposed to decrease when we disaggregate HFR indices to the level of individual funds while correcting for specification errors. Our new technique is therefore useful for hedge funds selection or ranking based on the alpha of Jensen corrected for specification errors. This technique will also be useful for calibrating other financial models of returns like the simple market model or the conditional alpha and beta models.