Influence of partner diversity on collaborative public R&D project outcomes: A study of application and commercialization of nanotechnologies in the Netherlands

Several studies have indicated the importance of public R&D in the transfer and commercialization of nanotechnology. So far, few have focused on university–industry interaction and collaboration performance. In this study, we investigate the impact of technological diversity and value chain complementarity of partners on public nanotechnology R&D projects' performance. We enriched a database on the commercial outcomes of technology research projects from the Dutch Technology Foundation STW. To test our hypotheses, we selected 169 nanotechnology research projects from the database, which started in a five-year period from 1998 until 2003. Project performance was measured five years after completion of the project. Technological diversity has a U-shaped effect on the projects' commercial performance. Findings show a strong positive impact of value chain complementarity of partners on both application development and commercial performance of the projects.. The framework introduced in this study allows an evaluation of the effects of technological diversity and value chain complementarity on application development and the commercial performance of public R&D projects.     

Examining the Factors Affecting Perceived Enjoyment and Usage Intention of Ubiquitous Tour Information Services: A Service Quality Perspective

With the advances in mobile technologies, the ubiquitous tour information service has been emerging as a new solution for providing tour information. This study examined the effects of ubiquitous tour information service on perceived enjoyment and usage intention by tourists. The study begins with a preliminary survey of mobile device users’ motives and perceptions of usage, followed by a review of the related literature. The measurements were derived from this process. The demonstrative analysis results classify the quality of ubiquitous tour information service into four categories: system quality, information quality, interface design, and convenience. Before analyzing the data, an exploratory factor analysis for reliability and validity assessment was conducted. Whereas the factors of interface design and convenience did not have a significant impact, the remaining two factors, system quality and information quality, impacted users’ perceived enjoyment to a much greater extent. The four categories of ubiquitous tour information service were shown to affect usage intention. Of the four factors, system quality was found to have the highest impact on usage intention, followed by convenience, interface design, and information quality, in that order. The association between perceived enjoyment and usage intention was also supported. Based on the results, academic and managerial implications are discussed.     

Firm-based market structure analysis using competitive advertising responses

In past literature, consumer-based measures reflecting perceptions or behaviour of consumers have been used for market structure analysis. However, for developing competitive strategies, firms may need to identify market structures based on how their competitors perceive the market and how they behave. In this article, we develop a firm-based measure using advertising reaction data to drive market structure. We then test hypotheses regarding the situations where the firm-based competitive maps converge with those derived from a traditional consumer-based approach. To derive competitive maps, we collected time-series advertising and sales data for 27 SBUs in six consumer-product categories. Survey data were also collected from marketing managers to test the hypotheses. Our investigation suggests that the maps of two approaches are consistent when markets are stable and predictable.     

Explaining cross-racial differences in teenage labor force participation: Results from a two-sided matching model

White teenagers are substantially more likely to search for employment than black teenagers. This differential occurs despite the fact that, conditional on race, individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to search. While the racial wage gap is small, the unemployment rate for black teenagers is substantially higher than that of white teenagers. We develop a two-sided search model where firms are partially able to search on demographics. Model estimates reveal that firms are more able to target their search on race than on age. Employment and wage outcome differences explain half of the racial gap in labor force participation rates.     

Remittances and income diversification in Bolivia’s rural sector

This article examines the role of remittances in income diversification strategies in Bolivia’s rural sector. Remittances can be consumed or invested by the recipient. As an investment, funds can be used for farming or to finance other nonfarm productions. In this article, we use a large and nationally representative survey to estimate the effect that remittances have on the probability of producing income from nonfarm activities (diversification) by using a bivariate probit model. Our evidence shows that remittances increase the probability that a rural family engages in nonfarm activities, at least in some regions of Bolivia. We also find evidence that the sender’s decision to remit and the recipient’s decision to diversify may be jointly determined. As such, this suggests that remittances may serve as a mechanism to overcome localized failures in Bolivia’s capital markets.     

Signaling Public Private Partnership Activities: Reporting Behavior Within Annual Reports

This empirical study examines whether, and if so, to what extent, firms report on Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects to signal PPP engagement even beyond legal obligations. The annual reports of the sample’s firms listed on the VSE in 2005 have been investigated in a qualitative and quantitative way to reveal information policy. Annual reports confirming PPP activities are examined qualitatively by an in-depth content analysis to answer the question in which way information about the revealed PPP projects is published. Further, predetermined keywords that at least indicate a PPP participation are statistically evaluated. The results outline that annual reports only give little and predominantly unspecific information on PPP which emphasizes the absence of corresponding reporting obligations and of a standardized PPP definition.     

Informed trading in the index option market: The case of KOSPI 200 options

This study examines if informed trading is present in the index option market by analyzing the KOSPI 200 options, the most actively traded derivative product in the world. The spread decomposition model developed by Madhavan, Richardson, and Roomans (1997) is utilized and the adverse‐selection cost component of the spread estimated by the model is then used as a proxy for the degree of informed trading. We find that adverse‐selection costs constitute a nontrivial portion of the transaction costs in index options trading. Approximately one‐third of the spread can be accounted for by information asymmetry costs. A further analysis indicates that adverse‐selection costs are positively related with option delta. Our regression analysis shows that option‐related variables are significantly associated with estimated information asymmetry costs, even when controlling for proxies for informed trading in the index futures market. Finally, we find the evidence that foreign investors are better informed compared to domestic investors and that domestic institutions have an edge in terms of information over domestic individuals. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 28:1118–1146, 2008     

The Effects of Fear Appeal: A Moderating Role of Culture and Message Type

This study explores the moderating role that culture plays on the effects of fear-appeal advertisements on subjects’ message acceptance. Secondly, this study investigates the role of message type in two different cultures (South Korea and the United States). As predicted, culture played as a moderating variable in the process of fear-arousing, antismoking ads. The main difference, however, was found in the collectivistic culture; although no significant difference was found for the individualistic culture. Further, the findings also suggest that the different message strategy should be considered in the different cultures to increase message acceptance among people.