Rybczynski's Theorem in the Heckscher-Ohlin World — Anything Goes

We demonstrate that Rybczynski's classic comparative statics can be reversed in a Heckscher-Ohlin world when preferences in each country favor the exported commodity. This taste bias has empirical support. An increase in the endowment of a factor of production can lead to an absolute curtailment in the production of the commodity using that factor intensively, and an absolute expansion of the commodity using relatively little of the same factor. This outcome - which we call “Reverse Rybczynski” - implies immiserizing factor growth. We present a simple analytical example that delivers this result with unique pre- and post-growth equilibria. In this example, production occurs within the cone of diversification, such that factor price equalization holds. We also provide general conditions that determine the sign of Rybczynski's comparative statics.     

Market-resistance and Valentine's Day events

Extending resistance theories, this article examines multi-method data spanning over seven years of events related to a holiday market. In the context of Valentine's Day, the authors present findings and develop knowledge on anti-consumption and alternative consumption. Specifically, this article introduces the recurring events of gift-resistance, retail-resistance, and market-resistance. Such consumer resistance often coexists with movements towards individualism and creation of more unique alternative consumption traditions.     

Corporate Sustainability Reporting: A Study in Disingenuity?

Over recent years, there has been a focus in corporate activity upon the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and one of its central platforms, the notion of sustainability, and particularly sustainable development. We argue in this article that the use of such a term has the effect of obfuscating the real situation regarding the effect of corporate activity upon the external environment and the consequent implications for the future. One of the effects of persuading that corporate activity is sustainable is that the cost of capital for the firm is reduced as investors are misled into thinking that the level of risk involved in their investment is lower than it actually is. We analyse the effects of this misrepresentation and argue for a fuller debate about sustainability.     

Firm growth in industrial clusters of the United Kingdom

This article examines how firm growth is influenced by the strength of the industrial cluster in which the firm is located. It presents econometric estimates of firm growth for 56 two-digit industries in the UK. In about half of these industries, there is a positive and statistically significant association between firm growth and own-sector employment. Significant associations between firm growth and other-sector employment are less common, but where these arise they are generally negative. We find that a weak rule of thumb applies in most industries: own-sector effects are positive or insignificant, while other-sector effects are negative or insignificant. Cluster effects are strongest in manufacturing, manufacturing-related, and infrastructure, but weaker in services.

Was the Internet the Only Option? Which Way Should Business and Information Systems Engineering Go?

In global competition, the Internet turned out to be the single and hegemonial infrastructure for communication. It has become the “nervous system” of today’s networked economy. While the first phase provided communication services, like e-mail, the WWW has established an interactive platform to allow easy access to advanced services. Now, in its “third” or cooperative phase, the Internet will finally lead to a ubiquitous informatization where business processes and applications become interleaved beyond the boundaries of enterprises. For this phase, many analogies to the emergence of the Internet can be observed.     

The Market Perception of Convertible Debt Versus Straight Debt: some Empirical Evidence from U.S. Firms and Non-U.S. Firms Listed in the U.S.

Accounting for convertible debt has long been a source of controversy in the accounting profession in the U.S. Current U.S. accounting rules require classifying convertible debt at date of issuance as entirely debt until conversion, despite numerous studies that assert that convertible debt is not entirely debt, but is a blend of debt and equity. Convertible debt has taken on international interest because of the issuance of International Accounting Standard (IAS) 32, Financial Instruments; Disclosure and Presentation, which prescribes reporting separate debt and equity components for convertible debt. This study examines convertible debt issued by U.S. firms and non-U.S. firms listed in the U.S. using a levels approach. Specifically, convertible debt is compared to straight debt and contrary to ex ante expectation, convertible debt was not found to be perceived as being significantly different than straight debt for U.S. firms for any years and is statistically different in only two of the six years tested for non-U.S. firms. The validity of this study's findings is underscored by its research design, which compares convertible debt and straight debt issued by the same firms. The findings suggest that investors regard reported amounts of convertible debt similar to straight debt in their assessment of firm value.     

Baseline budgeting for continuous improvement.

This article is designed to introduce the techniques used to convert traditionally maintained department budgets to baseline budgets. This entails identifying key activities, evaluating for value-added, and implementing continuous improvement opportunities. Baseline Budgeting for Continuous Improvement was created as a result of a newly named company president's request to implement zero-based budgeting. The president was frustrated with the mind-set of the organization, namely, "Next year's budget should be 10 to 15 percent more than this year's spending." Zero-based budgeting was not the answer, but combining the principles of activity-based costing and the Just-in-Time philosophy of eliminating waste and continuous improvement did provide a solution to the problem.     

Do the Rich Stay Unemployed Longer? An Empirical Study for the UK

This paper investigates the impact of individual asset holdings on the probability of leaving unemployment. According to the theory, higher levels of financial wealth will result in higher reservation wages and longer unemployment durations. I estimate the impact of financial assets on the hazard rate, using data for Great Britain. The empirical findings indicate that individual asset holdings affect significantly the escape rate out of unemployment. In particular, negative (positive) levels of wealth increase (reduce) the hazard of leaving unemployment. The size of the impact is, however, rather small. Increasing by 100% the level of wealth of a representative individual, with net wealth and other individual characteristics equal to the sample mean, increases the duration of the unemployment spell by half a week.     

Research Methods in the Leading Small Business–Entrepreneurship Journals: A Critical Review with Recommendations for Future Research*

Small business and entrepreneurship scholars have made significant progress toward advancing the field and gaining recognition as an important domain of scientific inquiry. However, the authors suggest that a strong methodological foundation built on state‐of‐the‐art research technologies is necessary to support further paradigmatic growth and maturation. Using Chandler and Lyon's study as a benchmark for research methods through the 1990s, the study critiques research methodologies used by small business and entrepreneurship researchers over the ensuing years. The analysis includes all 665 papers published between 2001 and February of 2008 in the Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Business Venturing, and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. The research outlines key methodological issues, assesses recent methodological practice, identifies current trends, and offers recommendations for researchers in adopting existing and emerging research technologies.