The impact of formal processes for market information acquisition and utilization on the performance of Chinese new ventures

The authors examine the performance impact of formal market information processes. Specifically, a theoretical model is developed that hypothesizes that formal processes for market information acquisition and utilization have direct and positive main effects on new venture success and is then tested using a sample of 222 new ventures located in China. Findings indicate that new venture success is positively correlated with the use of formal processes for market information acquisition and use. Moreover, the relative importance of formal processes to the acquisition and use of market information depends on whether the new venture serves an emerging or established market. In particular, the impact of formal processes for information acquisition is higher among new ventures that serve emerging markets. In contrast, the impact of formal processes for information use is higher among new ventures that serve established markets. We present managerial implications of our results. For example, a new venture with a strong market orientation can respond quickly to emerging marketplace needs, and can even seize the advantage from incumbents. If it is in an emerging market, however, the new venture management team should strive to excel at information acquisition; in an established market, it is important for the management team to excel at information utilization.     

THE INTERNALISATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXTERNALITIES AFFECTING DWELLINGS: A REVIEW OF COURT CASES IN HONG KONG

In 1960, Ronald Coase suggested that there are many methods to solve the problem of externalities apart from imposing Pigovian taxes. Internalisation is one of those noted in his classic paper, ‘The Problem of Social Cost’. This paper studies the possibility of residents receiving compensation from pollutant generators. Data collected from Hong Kong law reports over the past 20 years show that there is forty‐fold increase in number of water seepage court cases since the first case in 1994. The total amount of compensation has also increased greatly. There are, however, far fewer court cases where residents seek compensation from generators of noise and air pollution. This may reflect a combination of high transaction costs and low expected benefits from such cases.     

Misleading Characteristics of Implied-Superiority Claims

Abstract

Characteristics of implied-superiority claims that mislead consumers were examined. Claims for four products were investigated using a factorial design to manipulate type of claim (three variations of implied-superiority claims and a noncomparative claim), concreteness of the referent attribute (concrete, vague, and omitted), and brand familiarity (familiar and fictitious brand names). Implied-superiority claims were more misleading than noncomparative claims, as shown by the percentage of subjects who believed that brands described by such claims were superior. Ratings of brand quality and interest in trial were not increased by such claims. Concreteness of referent attributes does not account for these findings; however both the use of indirect comparisons to competitors and the use of familiar brand names contribute to the misleading effects of implied-superiority claims.     

Past price ‘memory’ in the housing market: testing the performance of different spatio-temporal specifications

Recent methodological developments provide a way to incorporate the temporal dimension when accounting for spatial effects in hedonic pricing. Weight matrices should decompose the spatial effects into two distinct components: bidirectional contemporaneous spatial connections; and unidirectional spatio-temporal effects from past transactions. Our iterative estimation approach explicitly analyses the role of time in price determination. The results show that both spatio-temporal components should be included in model specification; past transaction information stops contributing to price determination after eight months; and limited temporal friction is exhibited within this period. These findings highlight the decidedly non-linear temporal patterns of such information effects.     

东亚区域经济周期及其同步性研究

本文运用动态因子模型和B-B算法,以1993q1-2008q3时间段内GDP季度数据为基础,考察了东亚十国(地区)共同经济周期及其具体特征.再根据动态因子模型得到的参数,比较了东亚各国(地区)和共同经济周期的相关性.我们发现,除中国和共同周期的关系不大,东亚其他国家(地区)和共同周期的关系比较紧密.     

The Valuation of Insurance under Uncertainty: Does Information about Probability Matter?

In a laboratory experiment we test the hypothesis that consumers' valuation of insurance is sensitive to the amount of information available on the probability of a potential loss. In order to test this hypothesis we simulate a market in which we elicit individuals' willingness to pay to insure against a loss characterised either by known or else vague probabilities. We use two distinct treatments by providing subjects with different information over the vague probabilities of loss. In general we find that uncertainty about probabilities has a weak impact on consumers' valuation of insurance. However, additional information about probabilities tends to marginally increase the price individuals are willing to pay to insure themselves. Implications for the insurance market are derived.     

A trivariate model of participation,fertility and wages: the Italian case

Italy has unusually low fertility by OECD standards, accompaniedby unusually low female participation in paid work. This paperaddresses the issue of the empirical relationship between fertility,female participation in the labour market and wages with theseItalian 'peculiarities' as a backcloth. A trivariate model ofparticipation, fertility and wages has been constructed andestimated using three pooled cross-sections of Italian microdata, allowing for the identification of cohort effects. Thismodel follows a 'purist' approach: the participation and fertilitydecisions, as well as the wage equation, are modelled as completelyjoint. The cohort effects turn out to be significant: the pointestimates do not appear to confirm actual trends, which arenegative for fertility and positive for participation. The femalewage is the most important variable influencing the propensityto have children and the propensity to participate in the labourmarket, casting doubt on suggestions that observed trends arethe products of shifts in women's 'tastes'.     

不同的教育理念导致不同的教育结果——中乌两国高等教育之比较

该文从两国大学生生活和学习的一些现象入手,通过对两国诸如校址选择和校舍建设,学生独立生活能力和娱乐方式,授课方式与考试制度等方面的比较,来阐述由于教育理念的不同所带来的教育结果的差异。     

WTO与就业

中国入世后必然会对我国就业状况产生影响:就业市场结构性失衡;对各产业吸纳劳动力的影响不同;短期内将带来失业压力;长远看增加就业总量。对此,我们应采取相对措施:控制劳动力供给;扩大劳动力需求;加快劳动力流动和转移。