The hidden agenda: emotions in grocery shopping

In this paper, we demonstrate the complexity of consumer decision-making within the supermarket and use videographic techniques to gain greater insight into this. We propose that grocery shopping, often perceived as a routine behavior, can in fact, become quite complex. The broad pattern emerging from our study was that the less time the participant spent looking at the shelves, the less emotion displayed. Where there was longer time spent, there was also increasing physical interaction with the product and a greater display of mostly negative emotion. We suggest that this presents a conundrum for retailers. Does the lack of emotion indicate little or no commitment to the store and/or brand? Or are they so loyal there is no need for consumer engagement? This exploration suggests that further insight can be gained if the emphasis is on how the consumer interacts with their brands rather than assuming that all grocery decisions are predictive.     

Gender and sustainable tourism: reflections on theory and practice

Despite the rich and diverse tradition of research on the gender dimensions of tourism, such studies have had little impact on transforming unequal gendered power relations in the sector itself. In this paper, we are concerned with why this is the case and what steps might be taken to redress this situation. The paper argues that the challenges inherent in gender mainstreaming processes within public policies worldwide are replicated and – to some extent – exacerbated in the tourism sector. We contend that, despite its substantive insight into the sector, the impact of such literature has been minimal. We further suggest that this is, in part, due to the sustainable tourism paradigm's resistance to incorporating gender equality and gender analysis as core principles. In order to develop these arguments, we reflect on our experiences as specialist consultants in gender and sustainable tourism, drawing out some of the key tensions of integrating gender into sustainable tourism projects. In conclusion, we argue that there is substantive work to be done for gender to be integrated into the theory and practice of sustainable tourism, offering recommendations as to how this process might be improved.     

Corporate sustainability in action

Recent developments in management have highlighted the need for research on corporate sustainability strategies at the value chain level and in particular in the context of franchising. Although franchising is a widespread phenomenon, there is little empirical evidence of how companies approach the issue. By employing a multi-method research approach, this study explores the importance that franchisors assign to sustainability and the way they deal with it. Our findings show that franchisors adopt three main different sustainability strategies, with an increasing relevance of social sustainability as an enabler of environmental sustainability. The study sheds some light also on the interplay between the franchisor–franchisee relationship features and the company's approach toward sustainability. Preliminary propositions are presented as a starting point for further research in this area.     

IMP studies: A bridge between tradition and innovation

“Combining the Social and Technological Aspects of Innovation: Relationships and Networks” was the title of the 28th IMP Conference held in Rome, at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in 2012.     

The joint continuity of the expected payoff functions

Glicksberg [Glicksberg, I.L., 1952. A further generalization of the Kakutani fixed point theorem, with applications to Nash equilibrium points. In: Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society 3, pp. 170–174] generalized the Kakutani fixed point theorem to the setting of locally convex spaces and used it to prove that every k-person strategic game with action sets convex compact subsets of locally convex spaces and continuous payoff functions has a Nash equilibrium. He subsequently used this result to establish the following fundamental theorem of game theory: Every k-person strategic game with action sets metrizable compact topological spaces and continuous payoff functions has a mixed strategies equilibrium. However, in his proof of the latter result, Glicksberg did not show that the expected payoff functions were jointly continuous, something that was required for the existence of a mixed strategies equilibrium.     

Banking crises,financial dependence,and growth

This paper contributes to the literature that analyzes the mechanisms linking financial shocks and real activity. In particular, we investigate the growth impact of banking crises on industries with different levels of dependence on external finance. If banks are the key institutions allowing credit constraints to be relaxed, then a sudden loss of these intermediaries in a system in which such intermediaries are important should have a disproportionately contractionary impact on the sectors that flourished due to their reliance on banks. Using data from 38 developed and developing countries that experienced financial crises during the last quarter century, we find that those sectors that are highly dependent on external finance tend to experience a substantially greater contraction of value added during a banking crisis in countries with deeper financial systems than in countries with shallower financial systems. Our results do not suggest, however, that on net the externally dependent firms fare worse in deep financial systems.     

»Informational Utility«

The experiment examined factors that influence the selective exposure to media information. Earlier research has shown that dimensions of the informational utility model — magnitude of perceived consequences, perceived likelihood of their materialization, and perceived immediacy — govern selective news exposure. This approach is extended by the dimension of efficacy to predict the recipients’ selection of information. In an experimental procedure, two online newsmagazines with either positive or negative news only were presented. The 2x3x2 design varied efficacy (low vs. high), the established information utility dimensions (magnitude, likelihood, and immediacy) and the level of their intensity (low vs. high). Findings show that efficacy, as well as the established utility dimensions, foster the selection of news in recipients. The impacts of the dimensions is additive and applies to both positive and negative news.     

Fertility,Female Labor Supply,and Family Policy

The present paper develops an overlapping generations general equilibrium model for Germany in order to study the impact of public policy on household labor supply and fertility decisions. Starting from a benchmark equilibrium which reflects the current German family policy regime we introduce various reforms of the tax and child benefit system and quantify the consequences for birth rates and female labor supply. Our simulations indicate three central results: First, higher transfers to families (either direct, in‐kind or via family splitting) may increase birth rates significantly, but they may come at the cost of lower female employment. Second, the introduction of individual taxation (instead of joint taxation of couples) would increase female employment but might further reduce current birth rates in Germany. Third, it is possible to increase birth rates and female employment rates simultaneously if the government invests in child care facilities for children of all ages.     

Board Independence and Internal Committees in the BRICs

To be successful in global markets, companies from the emerging countries need the approval of foreign investors and other stakeholders. In this regard, Brazil, Russia, India, and China （BRIC） have progressively strengthened their corporate governance rules to help their companies overcome the competitors from the old industrialized countries. Directors＇ non-executive qualification, independence, and professional expertise represent basic requirements for effective corporate governance, so they should be carefully considered to guarantee a proper board composition and an adequate establishment of internal committees in listed companies. The paper intends to compare the legislative and regulatory frameworks adopted by the four countries; then it aims at answering to the following research questions by means of an empirical investigation： Have BRIC companies appointed non-executive and independent board members？ What do BRIC companies do in order to assure an effective participation of non-executive and independent board members to corporate governance activities？ Have BRIC companies established internal committees？ The research examines the appointment of non-executive directors and independent directors to the boards of 100 BRIC leading firms, as well as their involvement in internal committees focused on matters requiring motivated and impartial opinions. Although the laws and recommendations seem to favor a general convergence of corporate governance principles among the four BRIC and towards the international best practices, some differences and peculiarities emerge from a firm-level perspective. Indeed, the Indian and the Chinese companies analyzed appear more inclined than the Brazilian and the Russian ones to reassure their international stakeholders about board independence and effective committees.