Taiwan HRD practitioner competencies: an application of the ASTD WLP competency model

This paper aims to identify Taiwan HRD practitioners’ perceived competency levels, and to evaluate the importance of 52 workplace learning and performance (WLP) competencies. The conceptual framework is adapted from the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) models for WLP conducted by Rothwell, Sanders and Soper (1999). The survey data were obtained from 254 practitioners, results are analysed and findings reported. Conclusions and recommendations are provided.     

Reconstructing Urban Politics with a Bourdieusian Framework: The Case of Local Low‐Income Housing Policy

This research aimed to reconstruct a local urban politics and develop a meso–micro‐level model of urban politics through a case study, drawing on a Bourdieusian relational framework. To this end, it investigated the case of local low‐income housing policy — inclusionary zoning — in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. It historicized the path of the local low‐income policy issue through document analysis and qualitative media content analysis. Through multiple analyses, the study revealed that urban politics consists of complex interlinkages among stakeholders with shared values or interests from different social domains, created in order to dominate the policy issue. The study further investigated, on the basis of Bourdieu's concepts of capital and habitus, what elicited different political strategies from key community leaders.     

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) generation in new media platforms: The role of regulatory focus and collective dissonance

In this research, we examine the role of two motivational forces associated with creation of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM): regulatory focus and collective dissonance. Our studies show that generation of eWOM is enhanced by regulatory fit, while traditional WOM is dominated by the negativity effect. In study 1A, we show that prevention-focused consumers produce stronger intentions to post eWOM when they undergo a negative compared to a positive service experience. In study 1B, we find that promotion-focused consumers are more likely to post eWOM in reaction to a positive service experience when one's self-construal is independent. The final study shows that due to collective dissonance, consumers have greater intentions to create eWOM when their experiences are inconsistent with others' postings. We discuss the implications of these results for the development and management of eWOM communication in virtual communities.     

Delegation and dynamic incentives

Using an agency model, we show how delegation, by generating additional private information, improves dynamic incentives under limited commitment. It circumvents ratchet effects and facilitates the revelation of persistent private information through two effects: a play‐hardball effect, which mitigates an efficient agent's ratchet incentive, and a carrot effect which reduces an inefficient agent's take‐the‐money‐and‐run incentive. Although delegation entails a loss of control, it is optimal when uncertainty about operational efficiency is large. Moreover, delegation is more effective with production complementarity. We also consider different modes of commitment to yield insights into optimal organizational boundaries.     

Risk management with interdependent choice

Risks faced by traders from price movements are sometimes magnifiedby the actions of other traders. Risk-management systems whichneglect this feature may give a seriously misleading pictureof the true risks. The hazards arising from this potential blindspotare at their most dangerous when the prevailing conventionalwisdom lulls traders into a false sense of security on the attractivenessof a trading position. The efforts of one trader to reversehis trade makes more acute the need to follow suit on the partof others. For markets dominated by traders with short timehorizons, such interdependence leads to exaggerated price movements.Estimates of 'value at risk' which recognize such interdependenceof actions can diverge substantially from those given by conventionaltechniques.     

A multivariate analysis of DISC election decision

Conclusion This study found that the decision by management to establish a DISC unit may not be satisfactorily identified by the examination of the financial data on either anex ante orex post basis. However, examination of the responses to the questionnaires indicate differences in the perceptions of the management of the two groups are significantly different on a multivariate basis.A possible implication of this research effort is that the use of published financial data alone cannot adequately explain decisions made by management. Indeed, unless management's expectations are realized, use of published data alone may result in unwarranted conclusions.     

The Effects of Central Banks’ Rate Change Patterns on Financial Market Variables

This study examines whether different patterns of change to the benchmark interest rates of central banks are associated with their contributions to variances in the forecast errors of three financial market variables: the long-term interest rate, the foreign exchange rate, and the stock market index. On average, the central bank’s interest rate accounts for approximately 20% of the variance in each variable. We find that the total range of changes is more important than the frequency of changes. The panel regression shows that the range and frequency of policy rate changes is positively associated with the volatility of long-term interest rates but no association with the volatility of stock prices and exchange rates. These results suggest that small and frequent adjustments of policy rates are desirable for reducing the volatility of interest rates. The panel VAR represents interest rate channel is a more important than exchange rate and stock price channel.