Die Akzeptanz von Versicherungsdienstleistungen im Internet

There is not much known about the factors that determine online demand for insurances. This current study is a first attempt to locate the variables that affect the acceptance of online-purchase of an insurance policy from existing research and empirically verify them. Results show that good terms coupled with online purchase-experience is the most important cause for acceptance. Additionally, convenience (i.e., easy access to information through internet sites of insurance companies and easy and fast contracting), perceived barriers when transferring from a traditional insurance contract to an ?online contract“, information quality of the internet offer, perceived personal risk as well as perceived transaction risk are significant factors driving online demand for insurances.     

Actor-network theory and stakeholder collaboration: The case of Cultural Districts

The tourism literature has increasingly recognised the importance of integrating tourism and culture with other value chains. Though the value of such integration is uncontested, it does raise several questions relating to stakeholder collaboration. Despite substantial research in this field, there remain gaps in our knowledge of the micro-dynamics of stakeholder collaborations in building tourism/cultural systems. This paper contributes to this debate by investigating the micro-level interactions among stakeholders during the conceptualisation of a large collaborative project: a Cultural District. Drawing on Actor-Network Theory (ANT) the research shows that, though rigid sequential planning is not viable, conceptualisation is facilitated by deploying three ANT rules: enrolling actors, fact-building and circulating translations. These rules are used to define a “conditional path” whereby specific actions are activated when controversies emerge.     

Network Externalities and Standardization: A Classroom Demonstration

This paper presents a classroom game that can be used to demonstrate network externalities, standardization, and switching costs. In the basic game, students independently choose a technology whose value depends on the total number of students choosing that technology. In the next round, sequential decision making is allowed that quickly leads to standardization. Introducing imperfect information and switching costs into subsequent rounds can lead to the real-world phenomenon of an inferior technology becoming the standard. This exercise can be used in principles of economics classes to teach these important concepts without requiring mathematical models. In more advanced classes, construction of the mathematical model behind the game may be assigned.     

Intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurial intentions

We draw on cross-cultural theory and the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness project to develop a model for the transmission of entrepreneurial intentions within families in different cultures. Using data on more than 40,000 individuals from 15 countries, we show that beyond the transmission of entrepreneurial intentions from parents to children, grandparents – either directly or “indirectly” via the parents – impact the offspring's intentions. Moreover, we find that parents' and grandparents' influences partly substitute for one another. The strength of these effects varies across cultures. Our results provide a more detailed picture of the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurial intentions.     

Value premium and macroeconomic variables

This paper investigates the effect of macroeconomic expectations on the value premium. We introduce a two-pass estimation procedure to extrapolate the impact of investors' macroexpectations on the firm fundamental value of Rhodes-Kropf, Robinson, and Viswanathan. We find that the level and slope of the term structure affect valuation, revealing a heavily industry-dependent effect. The portfolios sorted on metrics orthogonal to macroeconomic variables show a clear association between the misvaluation component of value premium and size risk. By removing the influence of the macroeconomic conditions and size, we separate the portion of the value premium that rewards macroeconomic expectations.