Considerazioni sulla reciprocita' nei problemi di ottimo

In questo lavoro si stabiliscono alcune condizioni geometriche sull' immagine della funzione di cui si ricerca l'estremo e del vincolo per l'equivalenza tra problemi reciproci di estremo.

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In economics it is sometimes of interest to study constrained extremum problems. We give geometric conditions on the image set of the function of which we search the extremum and of the constrain for the equivalence between some reciprocal extremum problems.

     

R&D networks and innovation: decentralised product development in multinational enterprises

This paper documents the ways in which overseas R&D in MNEs now plays roles in what are innovative new approaches to innovation itself. Networks of laboratories are seen as supporting both the short-term and long-term competitive evolution of the MNE group's globally-effective product innovation.
In terms of the immediate commercial application of new products for global markets it is argued that product development labs work within creative overseas subsidiaries in MNEs. These aim to derive variants of the new product that fully meet the distinctive needs of each key regional market.
Another separate network of decentralised MNE labs carry out precompetitive (basic or applied) research, embodying particular areas of technological comparative advantage of their host countries. This network of labs therefore provides inputs into a centrally-articulated programme whose objective is to provide the basis of the longer-term technological evolution of the MNE, by upgrading the core knowledge from which future generations of innovative products can emerge.     

To be Involved or Not to be Involved? HRM Competences for Internationalization Process in Russian Companies

Abstract

This paper aims to identify the list of human resource management (HRM) competencies that are crucial for a company during the internationalization process. We focus on the Russian context and investigate the level of human resource (HR) managers’ involvement in the implementation of firm’s internationalization strategy, HRM competencies that facilitate internationalization process of Russian companies, and HR manager’s proficiency level, suitable for these competencies. Based on interviews of 125 HR managers from 110 companies, the study proves that communication competence, HR acumen, and relationship management are the most essential competencies that HR managers should possess. This research demonstrates that, in the field of internationalization there is a shift from more universal models to context-related models in terms of competence importance.     

The Importance of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sparkling Wine Characteristics and Behavior of Sparkling Wine Consumers in Croatia

ABSTRACT

Sparkling wines accounted for 7.7% of the total wine consumption in 2011 in the world. Even though sparkling wine remains a long way behind still wine in total volume of production, world consumption of sparkling wine is expected to grow at a faster rate with an 8.5% increase by 2016. Although Croatia is a country with a high residual per capita consumption, the share of sparkling wine consumption compared with total wine consumption amounts only 1.3%. To collect data on Croatian sparkling wine consumers’ behavior and attitudes, we performed online research with 273 consumers. The research confirmed the low frequency of sparkling wine consumption. The most important characteristics of sparkling wines for Croatian consumers are their intrinsic characteristics (taste, smell) together with price:quality ratio, while visual appearance, expert reviews, or wine prizes are less important. Consumption of sparkling wines is generally associated with specific celebrations. Due to such perception of exclusive wine use, there is a need to break down this prejudice by better sparkling wine promotion through wine-tasting events, seminars, and gastronomy offers, especially for younger consumers.     

Evidence on the international evolution and convergence of corporate governance regulations

The issue of appropriate corporate governance framework has been a focal point of recent reforms in many countries. This study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of corporate governance regulatory systems and their evolution since 1990 in 30 European countries and the US. It proposes a methodology to create detailed corporate governance indices which capture the major features of capital market laws in the analyzed countries. The indices indicate how the law in each country addresses various potential agency conflicts between corporate constituencies: namely, between shareholder and managers, between majority and minority shareholders, and between shareholders and bondholders. The analysis of regulatory provisions within the suggested framework enables us to understand better how corporate law works in a particular country and which strategies regulators adopt to achieve their goals. The 15-year time series of constructed indices and large country-coverage also allows us to draw conclusions about the convergence of corporate governance regimes across the countries.     

Influence of community design on user behaviors in online communities

While the question of how community design influences user behavior in online communities has recently attracted considerable research, few studies have empirically evaluated the influencing factors of specific user behavior. Building on a conceptual framework of identity-based vs. bond-based attachment in online communities, this study evaluates the influence of several antecedents on user attachment as well as attachment's mediating role for explaining consumer behavior. Results of a survey reveal that network effects, intergroup comparison, and social categorization have a positive and significant effect on common identity attachment, whereas this is not the case with in-group interdependence. Conversely, collectivism, interpersonal similarity, and social interaction drive common bond attachment, while personal information has no effect. Most importantly, the results show that common identity attachment is the primary driver of user behavior in online communities.     

The Value of Adjusting the Bias in Recommendations: International Evidence

The financial literature has shown that both earnings forecasts and investment recommendations are optimistically biased. However, while the bias in earnings forecasts has decreased over time and even some recent studies show that they are no longer optimistic, in the case of investment recommendations this bias still remains relatively constant over time. Therefore, it seems that recommendations are less credible to investors than earnings forecasts. The vast majority of recommendation studies have been carried out at the country level. In this paper, we use an international context to study whether profitable investment strategies exist when adjusting the recommendation bias of each analysed country. The adjustment we propose to correct this bias takes into account the differences across countries, and also varies in time to correct for the changes in bias over time within countries. Our empirical results show that there are in fact significant differences in the level of bias among countries, with the US and the UK being the countries with the highest bias. Second, the adjusted consensus portfolios are more orthogonal to typical investment styles (size, book‐to‐market and attention) and we find that investors could implement a higher number of profitable investment strategies using this adjusted measure. In this line, the results show that the countries with the lowest bias obtain the highest risk adjusted abnormal returns. Third, our work entails a practical implication, as it shows the value embedded in a simple necessary adjustment in the global asset management context. This is an important result showing that profitable investment strategies exist when considering a global portfolio based on adjusted recommendations.