Measuring Investors’ Socially Responsible Preferences in Mutual Funds

The aim of this study is to analyze investor behavior towards socially responsible mutual funds. The analysis is based on an experimental study where a sample of individuals takes investment decisions under different parameters of information about the investment alternatives and expected returns. In the experiment, each participant decides how to distribute an investment budget between two funds, returns on which are uncertain and change over time. Two treatments are conducted, each providing a different degree of information on the socially responsible (SR) character of one of the two investment alternatives. The results obtained suggest that although individuals’ criteria for investment are essentially guided by returns and diversification, participants invest significantly more in a fund when they are explicitly informed about its SR nature. In particular, participants who declare being concerned about SR actually invest significantly more in the SR alternative. Furthermore, the level of SR faithfulness among a small group of investors is such that they invest the main share of their budget in the SR fund, even when the return differential is highly unfavorable. Providing clear information about the SR characteristics of an investment is crucial to help investors express their preferences.     

Why solidarity matters (and sociability doesn't): The effects of perceived organizational culture on expatriation adjustment

This study examines the relationship between perceived organizational culture and cross‐cultural adjustment. Using the organizational culture framework of Goffee and Jones (1996, 1998) that describes organizational culture as the intersection of sociability (e.g., the level of friendliness and socialization between organization members) and solidarity (e.g., the commonality of interests and goals among organization members), this research examines home and host organizational culture as they affect expatriation adjustment regardless of culture novelty (e.g., national cultural differences). The data were obtained through a self‐administered questionnaire filled in by 166 expatriates from 29 nationalities and assigned to 39 countries. The analyses showed that perceived home and host solidarity predicts expatriates' work and general adjustment, though not interactional adjustment. These results confirm that perceived organizational culture is a predictor of expatriation cross‐cultural adjustment. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Relative deprivation and labour conflict during Spain’s industrialization: the Bilbao estuary, 1914–1936

What drove social conflict in Spain’s industrial areas in the period before the Spanish Civil War? This paper is concerned with contrasting the determinants of working-class conflict in northern Spain at the beginning of the twentieth century. Our hypothesis is that the key determinant of conflicts in emerging industrial areas during the interwar period was the struggle to obtain satisfactory family income in a context of combined high price fluctuation, unemployment and economic boom and bust. We suggest two new ways to decipher how economic factors interact with labour conflict. We introduce the family as the relevant income unit when considering wage struggles and relative deprivation. And secondly, we study the reactions to short-term variations of income on families by using monthly rather than quarterly or annual data.     

A Socio-technical Approach for Group Decision Support in Public Strategic Planning: The Pernambuco PPA Case

This article describes a socio-technical approach to public strategic planning. A multi-methodological framework with decision support systems (DSS) of problem structuring, multi-criteria decision analysis and strategic thinking was used in a decision conferencing process to support the key-players of the Pernambuco State Department of Social Development and Human Rights, in Brazil, to elaborate its 2008–2011 Multi-Annual Plan (PPA). This interactive process took place in June 2007, with thirty technical and political actors meeting in 5 consecutive days to discuss what should be the fundamental objectives/development axes of the PPA and to generate, assess and classify intervention programmes to achieve the objectives. Structuring objectives and programmes started by a group causal mapping session supported by the Decision Explorer DSS. Then, a multi-criteria group value model, created on-the-spot by means of the M-MACBETH DSS, helped the politicians in evaluating the overall benefit of each programme. The doability of the programmes was also appraised with MACBETH and, finally, the programmes were classified into four benefit versus doability categories defined in a $2\times 2$ strategic graph: “pearls” (programmes with high benefit value and easy to implement), “oysters” (high benefit but difficult to implement), “bread and butter” (easy to implement but of low added value) and “white elephants” (low benefit and difficult to implement). The group agreed that at least all pearls and oysters should be selected. The programmes were prioritised based on their value-for-effort and the robustness of the selection was analysed with the PROBE DSS a posteriori.     

Compelled to go abroad? Motives and outcomes of international assignments

This article examines the motives of expatriates and repatriates to accept international assignments and how these motives relate to individuals' perceptions of expatriation outcomes. Issues of adjustment, satisfaction, withdrawal intentions, willingness to relocate again in the future, and recommendation of an assignment to others were considered as outcomes. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews of 30 Portuguese expatriates and repatriates. The results indicate that a considerable number of participants relocated because they felt compelled to do so by their employing companies. Moreover, the extent to which organizations persuade these originally unwilling expatriates seems to have negative implications in terms of their perceptions of the adjustment process, general satisfaction with the assignment, and withdrawal intentions. Compelling behaviour also has career implications and impacts individual receptiveness to relocate in the future. Suggestions for further research and implications for organizations and prospective expatriates are also presented.     

Analysing technical and allocative efficiency in the French grocery retailing industry

This paper focuses on the innovative two-stage procedure developed by Simar and Wilson to estimate the determinants of French retailing efficiency. During the first stage, the technical and allocative efficiency of French retailers will be assessed using the DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) methodology to identify the best companies, in order to serve as peers for improving the performance of weaker companies. The companies analysed have therefore been ranked according to their total productivity over the period 2000–2004. During the second stage, the Simar and Wilson model will be used to bootstrap DEA scores via a truncated regression. The economic and managerial implications arising from this study will also be considered.     

Macroeconomic determinantsof workers' remittances: Hostversus home country's economic conditions

Abstract

This study examines the determinants of worker's remittances. Variance decompositions, impulse response functions and Granger causality tests derived from a vector error correction model are used to test if remittances are affected by the macroeconomic conditions of the host (remittance sending) or home (remittance receiving) country. Data from Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and the US are used. The results indicate that remittances respond more to changes in the macroeconomic conditions of the host country, than to changes in the macroeconomic conditions of the home country.     

Argentina's Feeble Recovery: Insights from a Real Business Cycle Approach

Abstract

Argentina’s GDP increased 30% between 2002 and 2005, prompting optimistic assessments that the country had finally left behind its secular stagnation. However, this strong performance followed a sharp decline in economic activity and therefore could be the manifestation of a bounce‐back effect with no lasting impact on Argentina’s mediocre long‐term growth rates. The paper examines this conjecture with the quantitative discipline imposed by a Real Business Cycle methodology and concludes that the 2002–05 expansion was not only a rebound, but also considerably weaker than the model predicts, a finding not consistent with upbeat views about the country’s long‐term prospects.     

Value co-creation behaviours from customer-to-customer interactions (CCIs) in recreational social tango experiences

ABSTRACT

Drawing on customer-dominant (C-D) logic, the main objective of this study is to examine value co-creation behaviours that emerge from customer-to-customer interactions (CCIs) in recreational dance experiences. In-depth interviews were held with 15 dance participants located in Chile, who take social tango classes. The findings identify seven CCI value co-creation behaviours, such as seeking and sharing information about the service with other participants, complying with service requirements and behaving responsibly towards other participants, developing personal interactions with other participants, helping and providing feedback to other participants, and finally being tolerant of and courteous to other participants. The findings of this study advances knowledge on value co-creation and can assist recreational services and dance school managers to develop more effective service strategies for improved customer experiences.