Ambiguity in Electoral Competition

The paper proposes an explanation to why electoral competition induces parties to state ambiguous platforms even if voters dislike ambiguity. A platform is ambiguous if different voters may interpret it as different policy proposals. An ambiguous platform puts more or less emphasis on alternative policies so that it is more or less easily interpreted as one policy or the other. I suppose that a party can monitor exactly this platform design but cannot target its communications to individuals one by one. Each individual votes according to her understanding of the parties’ platforms but dislikes ambiguity. It is shown that this electoral competition has no Nash equilibrium. Nevertheless its max–min strategies are the optimal strategies of the Downsian game in mixed strategies. Furthermore, if parties behave prudently enough and if the voters aversion to ambiguity is small enough, these strategies do form an equilibrium.     

A Study of Mutual Insurance for Bank Deposits

This article displays a study on the mutual insurance of bank deposits. A system where deposits are first insured by a consortium then by the Government is envisaged. We wish to compute the fair premia due to both the consortium and the Government. Various types of covenants aiming at making banks reduce their risks are detailed. These provisions can be, as is the case in Chapter 11, of a Parisian type. This means that surveillance is based on the path followed by the assets or the leverage. We compare these various types of covenants and conclude on the proposal for new regulatory provisions. JEL Classification No: G13, G21     

How songs from growing up and viewers' attachment styles affect video ads' effectiveness

We propose that the positive effect of coming-of-age songs on ad effectiveness arises from a mediation process where the music-evoked interpersonal memories of growing up stored in the brain and their accompanying emotions inevitably play a role, but not so straightforwardly as previously suggested. Rather, their effects work through the heightened familiarity of and peaked preferences for coming-of-age songs. We also propose that these sequentially mediated effects are moderated by viewers' developmental attachment styles. We test and find support for these propositions in three multimethod studies with more than 1200 participants born between the 40s and the mid-70s and almost 60 popular songs released between the 60s and the 2010s. We discuss the implications of our findings, namely for age-segmented video ads, and suggest future research directions.     

Kernel spatial density estimation in infinite dimension space

In this paper, we propose a nonparametric method to estimate the spatial density of a functional stationary random field. This latter is with values in some infinite dimensional normed space and admitted a density with respect to some reference measure. We study both the weak and strong consistencies of the considered estimator and also give some rates of convergence. Special attention is paid to the links between the probabilities of small balls and the rates of convergence of the estimator. The practical use and the behavior of the estimator are illustrated through some simulations and a real data application.     

Analysis of traffic congestion costs in a competitive supply chain

We study a competitive facility location problem with identical suppliers competing in multiple markets subject to distribution network congestion. We first analyze the solution of a symmetric competitive location game and discuss the firms’ facility location and equilibrium market supply decisions. Then, we utilize the model to provide analytical characterization of the effects of traffic congestion costs on equilibrium distribution flows. These analytical results permit qualitative characterization of how changes in congestion levels and costs affect equilibrium location and distribution decisions. The results of extensive numerical studies serve to further illustrate the effects of traffic congestion costs on location, market supply quantity, and distribution decisions.     

Is international tourism responsible for the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic? A cross-country analysis with a special focus on small islands

This article aims at analysing the role of international tourism attractiveness as a potential factor for the outbreak and the early spread of the recent COVID-19 disease across the world (also called the first wave) with a special focus on small Island economies. Econometric testing is implemented over a cross-country sample including 205 countries/territories (with 59 small islands) after controlling for several usual suspects. The results state a positive and significant relationship between COVID-19 prevalence and inbound tourism arrivals per capita. Thus in the early stages of the spread (before travel restrictions), international tourism could be seen as one of the main responsible factors for the recent pandemic, validating the “tourism-led vulnerability hypothesis”. Accordingly, considering that such health shocks should be more frequent in the near future, this finding suggests that the tourism specialization model in the context of small islands is too vulnerable to be considered as sustainable in the medium and long-run. Policymakers must opt for economic diversification when possible. Otherwise, building up a strong public-health system alongside a specialized tourism sector is required.

     

Legitimacy-Seeking Organizational Strategies in Controversial Industries: A Case Study Analysis and a Bidimensional Model

Controversial industry sectors, such as alcohol, gambling, and tobacco, though long-established, suffer organizational legitimacy problems. The authors consider various strategies used to seek organizational legitimacy in the U.K. casino gambling market. The findings are based on a detailed, multistakeholder case study pertaining to a failed bid for a regional supercasino. They suggest four generic strategies for seeking organizational legitimacy in this highly complex context: construing, earning, bargaining, and capturing, as well as pathways that combine these strategies. The case analysis and proposed bidimensional model of generic legitimacy-seeking strategies contribute to limited literature on organizational legitimacy in controversial industry sectors. In addition, beyond organizations active in controversial contexts, this study and its implications are useful for individuals and organizations supporting or opposing the organizational legitimacy of organizations in controversial industries.     

E-Business Maturity: Constraints Associated With Their Evolution

To compete effectively in the e-business world, an organization must structurally transform its internal foundation. This structural change requires an organization to develop an innovative e-business strategy, focusing on speed to market and breakthrough execution. Despite the recognition and care that in recent years has been dedicated to e-business, there remains a need for continuing research efforts that seek to better understand constraints on the evolution of an organization to a state that can take advantage of e-business possibilities. There is a special need for this when considering small and medium enterprises, or businesses in developing countries. To minimize risk exposure from e-business initiatives, it is imperative for an organization to identify potential constraints on e-business evolution. In this setting, we develop a research model that involves e-business constraints and e-business maturity. We classify the constraints into the categories of environment constraints, organizational constraints, and technological constraints. Our results indicate that there are constraints that can be more or less problematic, depending on the stage of maturity. The results are also quite different in large organizations versus Small and Medium Enterprises.