The Hungarian twin crisis of 1931

Even though Germany, Austria, and Hungary experienced a major financial crisis simultaneously in 1931, of the three, only Germany's and Austria's episodes have been investigated in depth. This article offers a thorough assessment of the missing piece. It finds that, just like Germany, Hungary also experienced a twin crisis. The primary reason for the weakness of the financial sector was banks’ excessive exposure to agricultural loans. The fragility of the currency was the result of an early balance‐of‐payments crisis in 1928/9. The vulnerability of the banking and monetary systems culminated in a twin crisis in 1931.     

Mobile Corporate Social Responsibility (mCSR): Examining Publics’ Responses to CSR-Based Initiatives in Natural Disasters

As social media use on mobile devices has been integrated in people’s daily lives, corporations began to target the publics on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on mobile devices. In the context of a natural disaster, this study examines how publics respond to CSR-based initiatives by way of mobile corporate social responsibility (mCSR), including gratifications, social media engagement, perceived CSR motives, and the relationship outcomes as associated with mCSR practice. An online survey was conducted by sampling with 1,433 nationally representative adults in the United States. Findings indicated that four broad types of gratification, such as technological convenience, social interaction, recreation, and information exchange, significantly influenced relationship outcomes such as satisfaction, commitment, distrust, trust, and control mutuality. Results also demonstrated that perceived CSR motives and social media engagement on mobile devices were significantly related to relationship outcomes, providing empirical evidence for the important role that potential mCSR communications can play in engaging publics and cultivating relationships during natural disasters.     

激情飞扬天地间——访西利标识总经理张西利

在中国标识界,谈起张西利和他领导的西利标识设计制作有限公司,是无人不知的。张西利以致力于标识行业的发展壮大和标识系统的研究开发为己任,成为中国标识业走向规范化、行业化的领头人。创业为先立意于美一九九六年,张西利率先创立了专业标识公司——西利标识设计制作有限公司。标识制作,在当时是被广告界嗤之以鼻的“招牌店”,广告界的“大佬”们自然对这个行业是不屑一顾的。可就是这个国内刚刚兴起的行业,当时在国外已经十分成熟了,而国内的许多标识仅仅是有限的导向功能上的诉求,并且还充斥着误导功能,对此张西利深感忧虑:在我们这个泱泱大国中,各行各业都在努力赶超先进,为何大家却对标识这个与我们生活息息相关的行业如此漠然呢?同时他又以一种敏锐的眼光看到:在我们这个发展中的国家,盲目追求经济效益的时代很快就会成为过去,而深深根植于国人思想深处的中国传统美学,在新的时代到来之际,必将在与西方美学的融合冲突中得到新生,这种新生将会与国人的生活工作密切相关。而标识行业,也必定在新的文化与美学概念中,在为人们带来生活便利的同时成为城市文脉中一道亮丽的人文风景线。张西利深深感到,中国标识业的水平同国外先进的标识水平还差得很远。创业伊始,他便如饥似渴...     

Homewonder Ltd: Shareholders Versus Other Stakeholders

Corporate social responsibility involves various economic and social issues. This case presents a dilemma of the trade‐off between economic benefits to shareholders and social benefits to other stakeholders. To respond to recent flat sales growth, as well as serious needs for cost reduction and meeting analysts' expectations, Homewonder Manufacturing Ltd. is considering a strategic plan to expand into Asia. To facilitate this plan, the CEO of the company proposed offshoring and outsourcing some business operations, as well as downsizing the company's current social programs. Various stakeholders will be affected by this plan. This case analysis requires an integration of the shareholder and stakeholder theories of the firm. It provides opportunities for students to consider whether relationships with other stakeholders are a salient corporate strategic concern, and perform costs and benefits analyses arising from this dilemma.     

An essay: limited growth,problems of full employment,and the viciousness of easy solutions

This paper reviews some of the possible effects that a slowdown in national rates of economic growth might have on levels of unemployment in an economically advanced nation. The consequences of three types of growth ceilings are considered; “zero population growth”, “limited growth” and “restricted growth”.     

Marketing and Territorial Factors： An Integrated Study of the Accommodation Choice in the Island of La Palma

The literature has highlighted the relevance of segmenting the tourism market as a start point for developing the right tourism policy recommendations. The present study examines the rural tourism market on the island of La Palma （Canary Islands） and its relationship with territorial factors. Specifically, it attempts to establish the role played in tourists＇ accommodation location choice by territorial and related factors （for instance, the area of the island, proximity to the beach, hours of sunshine, etc.） compared to other factors. A sample of 316 tourists who holidayed in rural tourism accommodation in La Palma during the period from July to September in 2007 was selected for this purpose. The methodology consisted of a preliminary analysis of the associations between the variables and their modalities, followed by a multiple correspondence analysis （MCA）. The results of the study allow to conclude that the weight of territorial variables in the choice of destination and accommodation location can vary substantially depending on the market segment considered.     

The moderating effect of collectivistic orientation in psychological empowerment and job satisfaction relationship

This study examines the moderating effect of collectivistic value on the relationship between psychological empowerment and job satisfaction. Specifically, we propose that the multi-dimensional psychological effects of empowerment (i.e., meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact) on job satisfaction differ between high and low collectivistic employees. Data collected from hotel employees in Canada (n = 193) and China (n = 371) revealed that collectivistic orientation elevated (attenuated) the effect of self-determination (impact) on job satisfaction. However, no significant results were found with respect to meaning and competence. Research and practical implications for the findings as well as directions for future research are suggested.     

The U-Shaped Productivity Dynamics of French Exporters

We use data on French manufacturing firms to reveal that the productivity dynamics of new exporters is typically U-shaped. Prior to entry, firm productivity temporarily decreases, then recovers contemporaneously with entry, as the benefits from sales to foreign markets accrue. We show that the U-shaped pattern is more pronounced for intensively exporting firms and for firms operating in capital-intensive or high-technology sectors. This finding suggests that firms prepare to become exporters through prior specific investments and learning-to-export mechanisms. We then point to the limitations of studies that focus only on date of entry to exporting to discriminate between self-selection versus learning mechanisms. JEL no.  F10, F14, L60     

Say-on-Pay Votes: The Role of the Media

Abstract

We investigate the association between the media coverage of firms’ CEO pay packages and subsequent shareholder voting on say-on-pay resolutions, and find that negative media coverage is able to predict shareholder discontent over say on pay. When we divide media coverage into coverage in the financial and business press versus coverage in the general press, we find that shareholder voting on say-on-pay resolutions is mainly associated with the articles from the financial and business press. This suggests that the media cannot be considered a homogeneous information source that is equally able to predict shareholders’ voting behaviors. As such, our findings have important implications for studies on the role of the media in corporate governance.     

Does obfuscating excessive CEO pay work? The influence of remuneration report readability on say-on-pay votes

This paper assesses whether reducing ‘readability’ is an effective obfuscation strategy for influencing the level of shareholder say-on-pay voting dissent in firms with excessive CEO pay. Based on a sample of UK-listed firms, our results indicate that in cases of excessive CEO pay, a less readable remuneration report is associated with reduced say-on-pay voting dissent. However, the effect of the obfuscation strategy diminishes as institutional ownership increases. Using obscurely written remuneration reports may even backfire (i.e. associated with increased voting dissent) when a firm’s majority shares are held by institutional investors. Our results are robust to controlling for compensation contract complexity as well as other alternative explanations. The results are also robust to various controls for endogeneity including a two-stage instrumental variable approach and propensity-score matching. Our findings offer regulatory implications that regulators could minimize the use of ‘obfuscation’ in pay-related disclosures by prescribing how information is to be presented.