Contracting with capacity constrained suppliers

This paper characterizes the optimal and efficient mechanisms to allocate simultaneously two substitute tasks to two suppliers. Two main results emerge from this analysis. First, even under some regularity conditions efficiency and optimality do not systematically coincide. Efficiency can always be achieved using some second price auctions which are optimal when both suppliers compete for the same task. When there is competition for different tasks the optimal production is distorted from efficiency over a nondegenerate interval of types so as to extract the full surplus over that interval. Second, full extraction of the surplus may still guarantee incentive compatibility. Received: November 2, 1998; revised version: March 2, 2000     

The Role,Use and Activation of Strong and Weak Network Ties: A Qualitative Analysis*

abstract A characteristic of studies seeking to explain the structure and operation of networks is the use of Granovetter's strong and weak tie hypothesis. Whilst this hypothesis has become an established paradigm, questions and disagreements arise over its applicability at demonstrating the real use and value of each tie. This study extends the work of Granovetter. Using a qualitative ethnographic approach to explore in‐depth the networking activities of fourteen respondents, it aims to enhance understanding about the role of ties, how they are used and activated for business activity. Findings demonstrate that it is strong ties that are instrumental for business activity and used extensively to provide knowledge and information but also to maintain, extend and enhance business and personal reputations. Unless activities require their reactivation and manifestation, strong ties remain latent and dormant within the network. Strong ties also provide the mechanism to invoke ‘weak’ ties, represented by nodes operating in a wider social context.     

Expanding the Tension‐Reduction Model of Work Stress and Alcohol Use: Comparison of Managerial and Non‐Managerial Men and Women*

abstract The tension‐reduction model that links workplace stress to alcohol use and problems has received mixed support in previous investigations. Following recommendations that this model include moderated mediated relationships ( Frone, 1999 ) using more specific forms of workplace stress, we examine the impact of gender ratio, generalized workplace abuse, and stereotype threat in an effort to predict alcohol use and problems particularly for managerial women. A total of 1410 (57 per cent response rate) employees completed a survey containing items on job stress, escapist reasons for drinking, and alcohol consumption and problems, and SEM analyses were conducted separately for managerial and non‐managerial men and women. Results revealed that: (a) these three workplace stressors were differentially related to general workplace stress for the four groups; and (b) the contributions of the three stressors and of general work stress to the alcohol‐related variables varied by group.     

Neighbors' Income,Public Goods,and Well‐Being

How does neighbors' income affect individual well‐being? Our analysis is based on rich U.S. local data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which contains information on where respondents live and their self‐reported well‐being. We find that the effect of neighbors' income on individuals' self‐reported well‐being varies with the size of the neighborhood included. In smaller areas such as ZIP codes, we find a positive relationship between median income and individuals' life satisfaction, whereas it is the opposite at the county, MSA, and state levels. We provide evidence that local public goods and local area characteristics such as unemployment, criminality, and poverty rates drive the association between satisfaction and neighbors' income at the ZIP code level. The neighbors' income effects are mainly concentrated among poorer individuals and are as large as one quarter of the effect of own income on self‐reported well‐being.     

Remittances,Dutch Disease,and Manufacturing Growth in Developing Economies

Remittances have grown tremendously in magnitude and economic importance in the past four decades, providing economies with additional disposable incomes and even serving as buffers against economic downturns. It is thus but fitting to ask how remittances have impacted on growth, particularly on manufacturing growth. This note presents a simple model linking remittances and manufacturing growth via a ‘Dutch Disease’ channel. Using Blundell and Bond's (1998) system general method of moments on a panel dataset of 56 developing economies from 1992 to 2016, we verify that remittances adversely affect manufacturing growth in economies that experience high real appreciation rates. This result is robust to alternate specifications, such as the inclusion of financial development indicators, the expansion of the sample to include high‐income economies, and the use of different sample periods.     

Boxed-in:: Top managers' propensities during crisis issue diagnosis

A key task of crisis preparedness is to diagnose those crisis issues that could threaten an organization in the future. Existing models, however, have focused on diagnosing issues that are already apparent versus those that may occur in the future. As a result, we lack understanding of the processes involved in such diagnosis and the barriers that constrain this process. This paper describes envisioning, noticing, and interpretation as critical processes involved in diagnosing potential crises. It also suggests that during such diagnosis, top managers have a propensity to focus on particular types of crises and be blind to others. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Are your employees minding their behavior?

Self-managed, "tailored" behavioral change programs cross both wellness and disease management issues and can impact the bottom line on health care costs of both employer and employee. For example, a back pain program can help change employee behavior to prevent the incidence and upflow of a condition to more severe and debilitating situations.     

Segmenting nonprofit stakeholders to enable successful relationship marketing: a review

• When establishing relationships with stakeholders, nonprofit organizations must define appropriate target groups to allocate resources purposively. This paper explicates that link by reviewing the literature on nonprofit stakeholder segmentation and by discussing whether stakeholder segmentation is perceived as a prerequisite of successful relationship marketing by nonprofit researchers.
• We develop two conceptual dimensions of nonprofit stakeholder segmentation: the stakeholders segmented and the segmentation criteria used. A systematic database and journal search yielded 53 papers, categorized according to these two dimensions. The studies are described briefly, and the relevance of the relationship marketing concept is examined and discussed. Several research gaps emerge from this review, leading to propositions for further research.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence of Place: Becoming a Region in Rural Canada

The purpose of this article is to investigate whether place is emerging in practice as a critical dimension in the development of Canadian rural regions. Recently, Jones and Paasi set regional researchers the task of better understanding how regions ‘become'. In researching this question, we are particularly interested in the definition and expression of place‐based identity as a mobilizing force for regionalism. Our findings suggest that, while identity plays a critical role in fostering regional development processes, it is either too emergent or actively resisted within our research sites to be a significant force for place‐based regional development.     

Firm credit in the euro area: a tale of three crises

Using survey data from 2009 to 2011, we analyse the effects of the recent euro area economic, financial and private debt crisis on the supply of and demand for bank finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). At the country level, we identify three distinct aspects of the recent crisis in the euro area affecting firm credit through different channels. Controlling for country fixed effects, the impact of a weak real economy on firm credit operates both by reducing firms’ demand for bank financing and by lenders increasing loan rejections and tightening terms and conditions on credit allocated. On the other hand, financial conditions have no significant effect on demand, but they do affect credit supply as we find that financial tensions worsen the chances of obtaining credit and its terms and conditions. We interpret this as evidence of a bank balance sheet channel negatively impacting credit provision. We find that private sector indebtedness has important effects on SMEs’ credit access and its terms and conditions.