Contingent Valuation: Controversies and Evidence

Contingent valuation (CV) has become one of the most widely usednon-market valuation techniques. CV's prominence is due to itsflexibility and ability to estimate total value, includingpassive use value. Its use and the inclusion of passive use valuein benefit-cost analyses and environmental litigation are thesubject of a contentious debate. This paper discusses key areasof the debate over CV and the validity of passive use value. Weconclude that many of the alleged problems with CV can beresolved by careful study design and implementation. We furtherconclude that claims that empirical CV findings are theoreticallyinconsistent are not generally supported by the literature. Thedebate over CV, however, has clarified several key issues relatedto nonmarket valuation and can provide useful guidance both to CVpractitioners and the users of CV results.     

共同会计价值观导向下的全球财务报告教育与研究——以美国为例

本文从考察全球财务报告与美国公认会计原则(GAAP)的关系入手,讨论了全球财务报告课程中应涵盖的内容以及业界对财务报告普遍存在的一些误解。探讨了会计理论研究如何发挥对准则制定的指导作用,以及为什么理论研究能对准则制定有重要指导作用,在此基础上,提出了与国际会计准则理事会的技术议程以及与财务报告全球化相关的研究课题。     

Adolescent injuries in relation to economic status: An international perspective

The primary objective of the study was to examine the relationship between patterns in car-to-car crashes involving young drivers and car and driver characteristics and the research design was a national register-based prospective cohort study. Individual records in a cohort born 1970 – 1972 are linked to road-traffic-crash data (1988 – 2000). Subjects' first police-registered two-car crash leading to severe or fatal injury (n = 4875) are identified. Typical crash patterns are highlighted and associations between pattern and both car and individual socio-demographic characteristics are tested. Four crash patterns are highlighted. Male drivers and those with lower educational attainment are over-represented in all patterns. Pattern-based risk levels vary considerably according to car safety level and driver's age at time of injury and socio-economic status. Crash patterns might be considered in young adult driver education systems, bearing in mind the consistent higher risks of male drivers and of drivers with lower educational attainment.     

Book Review

Media fragmentation and proliferation, in concert with declining television advertising efficacy, has engendered interest in developing more effective ways to reach consumers – particularly non-users of a brand. This study explores the effect of active product placement in computer games on both brand attitude (A_brand) and recall. Findings suggest that exposure to a particular brand in a computer game can increase A_brand among consumers whose pre-existing attitude towards the brand in question is fairly low. We conclude that product placement within computer games is an effective means of fostering high spontaneous brand recall and even of influencing consumers less positively predisposed towards a brand (analogous to non-users). These findings have promising managerial implications for firms looking to grow their customer base through acquisition and conversion.     

The challenge for women expatriates and spouses: some empirical evidence

This is an exploratory study examining issues associated with women expatriates and their spouses. Individuals representing three groups - organizations, women expatriates, male spouses - were interviewed to identify their experiences and concerns. The authors conclude that this issue will pose a dramatic challenge for international organizations in the coming decades, and that it is timely to investigate the issue in more depth.     

The Chinese in Britain: working towards success?

The Chinese community has made rapid socio-economic advancement Britain over the course of one generation. This paper examines the influences of culture and structure in determining the remarkable levels of attainments made by the Chinese Britain. In addition, the impacts of culture and structure in circumscribing occupational choices of the Chinese in Britain are also explored, since somewhat marring this image of success is the occupational segregation of the Chinese in the labour market. The human resource implication of this latter situation is that there exists a valuable source of qualified Chinese labour currently engaged in the ethnic niche, particularly Chinese catering industry, which could be better utilized in the wider labour market. It suggested that responsibility to address this issue reducing such 'wastage', involves efforts of three parties, namely, the Chinese themselves, careers counsellors, as well organizations in Britain.     

A Regime-Switching Model of Long-Term Stock Returns

Abstract

In this paper I first define the regime-switching lognormal model. Monthly data from the Standard and Poor’s 500 and the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 indices are used to fit the model parameters, using maximum likelihood estimation. The fit of the regime-switching model to the data is compared with other common econometric models, including the generalized autoregressive conditionally heteroskedastic model. The distribution function of the regime-switching model is derived. Prices of European options using the regime-switching model are derived and implied volatilities explored. Finally, an example of the application of the model to maturity guarantees under equity-linked insurance is presented. Equations for quantile and conditional tail expectation (Tail-VaR) risk measures are derived, and a numerical example compares the regime-switching lognormal model results with those using the more traditional lognormal stock return model.     

Interfirm Modularity and Its Implications for Product Development*

Industries characterized by interfirm modularity, in which the component products of different firms work together to create a system, are becoming increasingly widespread. In such industries, the existence of a common architecture enables consumers to mix and match the products of different firms. Industries ranging from stereos, cameras, and bicycles to computers, printing, and wireless services are now characterized by interfirm modularity. While the increasing presence of this context has been documented, the implications for the product development process remain underdeveloped. For the present study, in‐depth field‐based case studies of seven firms experiencing an environment of interfirm modularity were conducted in order to deepen understanding of this important phenomenon. What unique challenges did this context pose and why? What solutions did firms experiment with, and which seemed to work? Based on an inductive process of data analysis from these case studies, three primary categories of challenges raised by this environment were identified. First, firms were frustrated at their lack of control over the definition of their own products. The set of features and functions in products were constrained to a great extent by an architecture that the firm did not control. Second, while an environment of interfirm modularity should in theory eliminate interdependencies among firms since interfaces between products are defined ex‐ante, the present study found, ironically, that interdependencies were ubiquitous. Interdependencies continually emerged throughout the product development process, despite efforts to limit them. Third, firms found that the quantity and variegated nature of external relationships made their management exceedingly difficult. The sheer complexity was daunting, given both the size of the external network as well as the number of ties per external collaborator. Partners with whom control over the architecture was shared often had divergent interests—or at least not fully convergent interests. The solutions to these challenges were creative and in many cases counter to established wisdom. For instance, research has suggested many ways for a firm to influence architectural standards. While the firms in the present sample followed some of this advice, they also focused on a more neglected aspect of architecture—the compliance and testing standards that accompany modules and interfaces. By concentrating their efforts in a different area, even smaller firms in this sample were able to have some influence. Instead of focusing on the elimination of interdependencies, it was found that firms benefited from concentrating on the management of interdependencies as they emerged. Finally, while layers of management and “bureaucracy” are often viewed as unproductive, these firms found that adding structure, through positions such as Relationship Manager, was highly beneficial in handling the coordination and control of a wide range of external relationships.     

Workforce diversity initiatives of U.S. multinational corporations in Europe

Although most U.S. multinational corporations have substantial workforce diversity management programs in their U.S. operations, they are only beginning to consider parallel efforts in their overseas subsidiaries and affiliates. The internationalization issue is particularly prominent in the European Union, where competitive, demographic, legal, and political developments make workforce diversity issues unavoidable within the next few years. Instead of simply replicating U.S. programs, however, diversity initiatives in Europe need to adapt to each employer's strategic objectives, degree of organizational integration, and local needs. The experiences of Lucent Technologies Inc. and The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies illustrate two contrasting approaches. The former has adopted a strongly multidomestic strategy, while the latter has a more global approach. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.