Employment Protection and SME Capital Structure Decisions

This study examines the effect of employment protection (EP) on the capital structure of SMEs. We argue that EP is linked to both the level of leverage and leverage adjustments because of its impact on financial distress costs and a firm's operational leverage. Data on employment contract types allow us to compose company specific measures of exposure to EP using a panel data set of 14,858 Belgian SMEs between 2000 and 2012. Our results show that the leverage ratio of firms is higher and that firms are more likely to adjust leverage levels when they are subject to fewer EP obligations.     

Corporate Stock and Bond Return Correlations and Dynamic Adjustments of Capital Structure

This paper analyses the effects of dynamic correlations between stock and bond returns issued by the same firm on the speed of adjustment towards target leverage. The results show that the estimated correlations are time varying, show persistence and differ among firms. Analysis of the potential explanatory variables reveals that the correlations decrease with negative expectations about future aggregate risks, but only for firms with a low default probability. In contrast, correlations are positively associated with specific risk measures, especially idiosyncratic stock risk and financial leverage. The positive relationship between the correlations and the leverage ratio suggests that target leverage can be achieved faster when the stock–bond correlation is high. Our results show that this is the case.     

Negative interest rate policy and the yield curve

We evaluate the implications of the ECB's negative interest rate policy (NIRP) on the yield curve. To capture various shapes of the short end of the yield curve induced by the NIRP, we introduce two policy indicators, which summarize the immediate and longer horizon future monetary policy stances. We find that the four NIRP events lowered the short-term interest rate by the same amount. The impact is dampened at longer maturities for the first two event dates, due to lack of forward guidance. By contrast, for the last two dates, forward guidance drives the largest effects in two years.     

Michael Redclift. Chewing Gum: The Fortunes of Taste

Chewing gum was foremost an American invention, Michael Redclifttells us in Chewing Gum: The Fortunes of Taste, a brief yetserious and engaging book that details how chewing gum cameto occupy a distinct place in the rise of American consumerism.Perhaps nothing signified the triviality of consumerism as chewinggum. It possessed what Redclift calls an "ephemeral quality,"it was an easily replicable mass product, and provided instantgratification. This ephemerality was complicated by     

A review of the effect of cigarette advertising

Because of the inconsistency in the findings from past decades of research and the lack of consensus regarding the relationship between advertising exposure and cigarette consumption, the large body of extant research on the effectiveness of cigarette advertising has generated equivocal conclusions on this subject. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of cigarette advertising research to determine what impact, if any, cigarette advertising has on cigarette consumption. Unlike previous attempts to synthesize the cigarette advertising literature, this study examined three specific levels of the criterion (i.e., initiation, continuation, and brand behavior) rather than examining only aggregate consumption.     

Learning through engagement: undergraduate students engaging in community-based participatory research (CBPR) in hospitality and tourism education

This paper discusses how instructors can engage their students in community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects that involve not only research on a topic but also include community stakeholders in the research process and provide opportunities for service learning. CBPR is defined, examples of effective CBPR student projects are presented, the possible benefits and drawbacks of CBPR student projects are offered, and tips for conducting successful CBPR projects with hospitality and tourism students are provided.     

The politics,satisfaction, loyalty,and success of Ph.D. students in hospitality and tourism

The purpose of this study was to explore the roles of organizational politics in educational institutions with regard to graduate students’ satisfaction with supervision and loyalty toward advisors, and thereby success of students in the Ph.D. program, within the hospitality and tourism discipline. The findings demonstrate that satisfaction and loyalty play important roles in doctoral students’ experiences in graduate education. Several implications for students and faculty are discussed.     

Strategies for Retrenchment: Reconciling Individual and Organizational Needs

Résumé Le retranchement, c'est-à-dire la réduction des ressources humaines, mate*** rielles et financières est devenu un problème familier dans plusieurs pays. L*** taux de chǒmage a augmenté de façon dramtique en Europe comme en Amer*** que du Nord, indiquant des redondances dans les secteurs public et privé ain*** que chez les cols bleus, les cols blancs et les cadres à la suite de conditior*** économiques défavorables, de coupures gouvernementales et de changemen*** technologiques. Les statistiques stériles cachent cependant un problème tri*** humain: celui des employés qui doivent accepter la perte involontaire de lei*** emploi. Plusieurs études parues récemment accentuent l'importance des b*** soins des employés lors des coupures. Les demandes peuvent cependant ět*** ignorées dans un climat de coupures lorsque les besoins de l'entreprise o*** précédence dans un effort de réduction des coǔts.*** Pour sensibiliser les employeurs aux besoins des employés, ils doivent ěti*** informés des avantages commerciaux associés à cette approche, alors que 1*** chercheurs doivent reconnaǐtre l'importance des préoccupations de l'emloyei*** en période de coupures. Cet article explore certaines des raisons économique*** justifiant l'intérět pour les préoccupations individuelles et présente un cadi*** destiné à aider les cadres à concevoir des stratégies de retranchement qui tiei*** nent compte à la fois des besoins de l'entreprise et de l'employé. Une etude c*** huit entreprises qui ont adopté une variété de programmes de coupures impl*** quant des employés de divers niveaux est discutée, démontrant comment *** cadre peut ětre appliqué     

Operational planning and competitive strategies of male and female retailers

Interest in the managerial practices of females in business has increased over the past decade due to women's increased representation in business. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that women approach decision making differently from men. The purpose of this study is to determine if gender differences regarding managerial strategies exist in the retail setting. Targeted managerial strategies focused on short-term planning processes (personnel, financial, inventory and market planning) and competitive strategies in operation (differentiation, cost leadership and focus). In a sample of 459 retailers from a twelve-state region, MANOVA was used to determine if significant differences in managerial strategies existed between genders. The data on retail competitive strategies suggest that men and women more likely than male business owners to recognize in the importance of differentiation and focus as retail competitive strategies in their business operations. Gender differences were also found in the operational planning areas of market and inventory planning.