Rhetoric and hegemony in consumptive wildlife tourism: polarizing sustainability discourses among angling tourism stakeholders

Nature-based tourism frequently results in controversies over access rights, but also over how resources should be managed and utilized. In this article, we explore disagreements on management strategies and angling practices, which followed in the wake of the gradual introduction of increasingly strict harvest regulations in salmon angling in the Orkla River of Norway. Different views on what represent the most severe threats to the salmon stock appeared in this case to originate in rather complex patterns with respect to the ways stakeholders related to and engaged with salmon, rivers and nature in general. The identification of incompatible goals and motives of various categories of stakeholders has for long been a dominant approach in research on these types of conflicts. In this contribution, we broaden the scope by exploring how such controversies involve competition for hegemony with respect to how management and angling practices should be discursively framed.     

Foreign institutional investors and dividend policy: Evidence from China

This study examines whether foreign institutional investment influences firms’ dividend policies. Using data from all domestically listed nonfinancial firms in China during the period of 2003–2013, we find that foreign shareholding influences dividend decisions and vice versa.Furthermore, changes in dividend payments over time positively affect subsequent changes in foreign shareholding, but the opposite is not true. Our study indicates that foreign institutional investors do not change firms’ future dividend payments once they have made their investment choices in China. Moreover, they self-select into Chinese firms that pay high dividends. Our evidence suggests that in an institutional setting where foreign investors have tightly restricted access to local securities markets and a relatively high risk of expropriation by controlling shareholders exists, firms can use dividends to signal good investment opportunities to foreign investors.     

Mergers and partial ownership

We compare the profitability of a merger between two firms in which one firm fully acquires another and the profitability of a partial ownership arrangement in which the acquiring firm, although owning less than 100% of the acquired firm, is nevertheless able to obtain corporate control over all pricing decisions. We find that joint profit can be higher in the latter case because it may result in a greater dampening of competition with respect to an outside competitor when the partial ownership arrangement is publicly observable. We also derive comparative statics on the prices of the acquiring firm, the acquired firm, and the outside firm and use them to explain puzzling features of the pay-TV markets in Norway and Sweden.     

The impact on allocation and return to labor and capital of a reduction of customs duties in the developed countries in their trade with less developed countries

Zusammenfassung Die Wirkung einer Zollsenkung in entwickelten L?ndern in ihrem Handel mit weniger entwickelten L?ndern auf die Allokation und die Ertr?ge von Arbeit und Kapital. — Die vorliegende Abhandlung geht von der Annahme aus, da\ die Textil- und Schuhindustrien in den weniger entwickelten L?ndern einen komparativen Vorteil haben, w?hrend die gleichen beiden Industrien in den entwickelten L?ndern einen komparativen Nachteil aufweisen, und da\ daher die Exporte dieser Industrien aus den weniger entwickelten L?ndern gef?rdert werden sollten. Die Auswirkungen einer Abschaffung der Z?lle auf Textilien auf die Ertr?ge von Arbeit und Kapital in diesen Industrien wird für Norwegen gesch?tzt. Die Untersuchung ergibt, da\ die Abschaffung der Z?lle die Ertr?ge von Arbeit und Kapital in den Textil- und Schuhindustrien um 26–27 vH verringern wird. Dies scheinen auch ann?hernd die Wirkungen auf die Ertr?ge von Arbeit und Kapital in den meisten anderen entwickelten L?ndern zu sein.

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Résumé L’effet qu’exerce sur le rendement du travail et du capital une baisse du tarif douanier dans les pays développés en ce qui concerne leur commerce avec des pays moins développés. — Cet article suppose que les industries textiles et des chaussures dans les pays moins développés en ont un avantage comparatif, tandis que les mêmes industries dans les pays développés ont un désavantage comparatif, et que, par conséquent, il faudrait encourager á l’exportation ces deux industries dans les pays moins développés. Ensuite, est estimé pour la Norvège l’effet qu’exercerait sur le rendement du travail et du capital une abolition des tarifs de douane sur les textiles. On arrive á la conclusion qu’une telle abolition ferait baisser de 26 á 27 pour cent le rendement du travail et du capital dans les industries textiles et des chaussures. Il para?t que le même effet se produirait dans la plupart des autres pays développés.

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Resumen El impacto de una reducción arancelaria en paises desarrollados en su comercio con paises menos desarrollados sobre la alocación y los rendimientos del trabajo y del capital. — El présente estudio parte del supuesto, que las industrias textiles y del calzado tienen ventajas comparativas en paises menos desarrollados y desventajas comparativas en paises desarrollados, y que por lo tanto deberfanse fomentar las exportaciones de estas industrias de los pafses menos desarrollados. El autor présenta una estimaci?n para Noruega sobre el efecto que tendria la abolici?n del arancel de productos textiles y del calzado sobre los rendimientos de trabajo y capital. El resultado es que dichos rendimientos se reducirian en un 26 a 27 por 100. Esto équivale mas o menos al impacto que cabria esperar en la mayoria de los demás paises desarrollados.

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Riassunto L’effetto di un abbassamento dei dazi in Paesi sviluppati nel loro commercio con Paesi meno sviluppati sull’allocazione e sui provenu di lavoro e capitale. — II présente articolo parte dall’ipotesi che le industrie tessili e calzaturiere nei Paesi poco sviluppati hanno un comparativo vantaggio, mentre queste due stesse industrie presentano un comparativo svantaggio nei Paesi sviluppati e che perció le esportazioni di queste industrie dovrebbero essere favorite dai Paesi poco sviluppati. Le ripercussioni di un’abolizione dei dazi su tessili sui proventi di lavoro e capitale in queste industrie vengono valutate per la Norvegia. L’indagine dá corne risultato che l’abolizione dei dazi ridurrá del 26–27% i proventi di lavoro e capitale nelle industrie tessili e calzaturiere. Questi sembrano anche essere approssimativamente gli effetti sui proventi di lavoro e capitale nella maggior parte degli altri Paesi sviluppati.

     

Employee images of risk

Risk perception and risk judgements are interesting because they may influence behaviour as well as decision making related to hazards. Risk perception consists of a rational as well as an emotional component. In the present study the rational and affective components of perceived risk were measured separately and the hypothesis that they may be related differently to risk behaviour was tested. In 1997 and 1998 a self-completion questionnaire survey was carried out among employees at 14 plants within the industrial company Norsk Hydro. The plants belonged to several divisions within the company. A total of 814 respondents replied to the questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was used to test models aimed at determining the relations between risk perception and behaviour. The affective component of risk perception and risk behaviour was found to be independent variables. The rational component seemed to have a significant, however small, effect on behaviour. Acceptability of rule violations was the most important predictor, probably because acceptability also was associated with how often the respondents took chances and broke safety rules. The models explained about 50 per cent of the variance in risk behaviour.     

Maturing born globals and their acquisitive behaviour

Born globals are becoming more common in our interconnected world. While a body of knowledge exists regarding the establishment and early growth of born globals, we know less about how these companies develop. Arguing that acquiring new knowledge, technologies, and products will enable companies to survive beyond their initial success, the current study specifically aims to explore the value of technology-motivated acquisitions, and their effect on performance. To this end, the study employs a hybrid methodology; statistically studying 108 acquisitions conducted by 45 maturing, technology-based born globals in Israel over a period of 10 years, and further substantiate the findings with an in-depth case analysis of four sample companies. The results indicate that technology-motivated acquisitions are valuable in terms of both financial performance and independent survival, but that there likely exists an optimal threshold, indicating that such a strategy, though beneficial, should be carefully managed.     

Empirical Evidence on the Relationship between Mobile Termination Rates and Firms' Profits

The theoretical literature on mobile termination rates (MTRs) is inconclusive on how the level of MTRs affects overall consumer charges and firms' profits. We show that when firms offer bundles with fixed included usage – a tariff structure that has become more common in recent years – an identical change in all MTRs does not affect firms' retail prices or profits. We use a panel dataset from saturated European markets to estimate the effect of MTRs on mobile operators' profits. As predicted by the theoretical model, we cannot reject the fact that firms' profits are unaffected by an identical change in all MTRs.     

Imitation,Contagion, or Exertion? Using a Tax Reform to Reveal How Colleagues' Sick Leaves Influence Worker Behaviour

We analyse the social interaction effects in sick‐leave behaviour in the workplace, using high‐quality Norwegian matched employer–employee data with detailed individual information on sick leaves during the 2004–2006 period. We find that social interaction effects in sick‐leave behaviour in the workplace do exist, and that the effects are noticeable in size. The strong relationship between the sick‐leave rates among colleagues is not solely the result of contagious diseases, nor is it caused by improved informational quality or by the increased workload for the non‐absent workers. Evidence supports the existence of reciprocal worker behaviour that is unrelated to joint leisure‐seeking activities.