Leadership effectiveness and institutional frames

Leadership mechanisms provide a potential means to mitigate social dilemmas, but empirical evidence on the success of such mechanisms is mixed. In this paper, we explore the institutional frame as a relevant factor for the effectiveness of leadership. We compare subjects’ behavior in public-goods experiments that are either framed positively (give-some game) or negatively (take-some game). We observe that leader and follower decisions are sensitive to the institutional frame. Leaders contribute less in the take-some game, and the correlation between leaders’ and followers’ contribution is weaker in the take-some game. Additionally, using a strategy method to elicit followers’ reactions at the individual level, we find evidence for the malleability of followers’ revealed cooperation types. Taken together, the leadership institution is found to be less efficient in the take- than in the give-frame, both in games that are played only once and repeatedly.     

The Relationship Between Home Market Performance and Internationalization Decisions: Evidence From German Insurance Groups

This study investigates the relationship between home market performance and the choice of foreign market entry mode using survey data and financial statement data for German insurance groups with property–liability business from 1999 to 2011. We develop a dynamic resource‐based perspective and argue that strategic transformation is a major motive driving the decisions of insurance groups to internationalize their businesses. Additionally, the more rapid the strategic transformation, the more intense is the choice of market entry mode. Furthermore, our findings corroborate the notion that internationalization has a positive effect on home market performance when insurance groups are able to decrease home market dependence by extending the degree of internationalization.     

Die Gruppenaufsicht nach dem Entwurf der Solvency II Rahmenrichtlinie

The draft framework directive for Solvency II (“Draft”) in general and the section on group supervision in particular is an impressive step towards a modern supervisory system, which is aligned with the economical reality of the insurance groups. It is to be hoped that the Draft will be implemented with only few changes.The Draft distinguishes a general and a special (group support regime) group supervision. The general group supervision constitutes a much more modern concept than the current Insurance Groups Directive, since it partly modifies the solo supervision (internal model to be approved by the group supervisor) and introduces a group based solvency requirement, the calculation of which allows for diversification effects on a group level.The group support regime, which applies only if an application has been approved by the group supervisor, allows to recognise such diversification effects by allowing the parent undertaking to replace paid-up own funds in a subsidiary undertaking by a group support declaration. Conditions for group support are in particular that the respective subsidiary is subject to an integrated risk management and internal control system, that the group solvency requirement is covered with own funds, and that the parent undertaking commits to promptly transfer own funds to the subsidiary where necessary, up to the limit of the group support declaration.     

Segments of sustainable food consumers: a literature review

Sustainable food consumption is an important aspect of sustainable development. When adopting a sustainable food lifestyle, consumers are confronted with complex choices. Today's food consumption is too complex to be explained by socio‐demographic factors exclusively. A broader perspective is needed. In order to explain behaviour across different consumer segments better, relatively homogenous segments of food consumers were identified by segmenting food consumers based on a wide range of variables. The current study aims to provide an overview of published studies that have segmented consumers with regard to sustainable food consumption. The literature review has been conducted by searching SciVerse Scopus for all relevant articles available until November 2010. The main criterion for including a specific study was the inclusion of empirical analyses of primary data, resulting in consumer segments with regard to sustainable food consumption. Sixteen articles were incorporated in the final analysis. First, the variables used for segmentation and profiling in the included articles have been categorized into three levels of abstraction: personality characteristics, food‐related lifestyles and behaviour. The three levels of abstraction proved to be helpful in categorizing the segmentation studies. The findings indicate that variables on all three levels were efficient in differentiating consumer segments regarding sustainability. In addition, the importance of price and health differed across the segments, although these variables are only indirectly related to sustainability. Second, the three most frequently identified consumer segments with regard to sustainable food consumption were: ‘greens’, ‘potential greens’ and ‘non‐greens’. These segments differed from one another on all three levels of abstraction. This implies that future segmentation studies should include variables on all levels of abstraction to get a complete picture of existing sustainable consumer segments. Marketers should be aware that targeting specific segments based on socio‐demographic variables exclusively is not sufficient. Personality characteristics, lifestyle and behaviour are all important to take into consideration. Attempts at stimulating sustainable consumption might be most effective when differences across consumer segments are taken into account. Future research is needed to explore the characteristics of different sustainable food consumer segments with respect to their potential contributions in promoting sustainable development.     

金融危机的三个误读

金融危机尚未尘埃落定，我们已从中吸取了很多教训，但也不乏误读。第一，认为华尔街已经失败，以美国为代表的西方金融体系崩溃，乃至自由资本主义制度失灵。这种结论是错误的，至少为时过早。     

请银行悲观一些

消灭金融危机最好的办法,或许就是让所有人成为悲观者,至少是银行. 国际会计准则理事会(IASB)目前正在这么想,并准备这么做.2009年11月5日,IASB公布提案,美国之外适用其规则的银行将被要求进一步提前公布贷款的预期亏损.     

Verkauf auf allen Kanälen — Multi- Channel-Systeme erfolgsorientiert ausrichten

Der Verkauf findet zunehmend in Multi-Channel-Systemen statt, die elektronische Online- und station?re Offline-Kan?le verknüpfen und dem Wunsch der Kunden nach Channel Hopping entgegenkommen. Der Erfolg dieser Systeme h?ngt ab vom Grad der Vernetzung, der sich nach sieben zentralen Erfolgsfaktoren differenzieren l?sst.