Accounting for ARPU: New evidence from international panel data

Average revenue per user (ARPU) is commonly used by regulators and industry observers to compare the performance of mobile telephony markets. Under the new EU electronic communications regulatory framework, some national regulatory authorities (NRAs) have linked higher ARPU with ‘significant market power’. This paper empirically examines the determinants of ARPU in a systematic way, taking account of service quality, market environment, regulation and quantity of service. The robust results suggest that concentration may not be a reliable indicator of competition in mobile markets; there are economies of density in mobile markets; and higher GDP per capita increases ARPU.     

The effects of training design,individual characteristics and work environment on transfer of training

This study aims to gain insight into some of the factors that determine the transfer of training to the work context. The present research examined the relationship between three types of predictors on transfer of training, including training design, individual characteristics and work environment. Data was collected at two points in time from 182 employees in a large grocery organization. The results indicated that transfer design, performance self‐efficacy, training retention and performance feedback were significantly related to transfer of training. Contrary to expectation, supervisory support was not significantly related to transfer of training. These results suggest that in order to enhance transfer of training, organizations should design training that gives trainees the ability to transfer learning, reinforces the trainee's beliefs in their ability to transfer, ensures the training content is retained over time and provides appropriate feedback regarding employee job performance following training activities.     

A small sample study of the moments and distribution of the log likelihood ratio statistic

A study of the first four moments of the log likelihood ratio statistic suggests that a transformed Beta ranks as a serious competitor to the Chi-square as an approximating distribution for certain multinomials. An error analysis of the series approximations of these moments indicates that the equiprobable case is not of sufficient generality for the study of multinomial type statistics. This research was partially supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under grant number AFOSR-85-0161.     

Analysts' Roundtable on Integrating ESG into Investment Decision‐Making

In this third of the three discussions that took place at the SASB 2016 Symposium, practitioners of a broad range of investment approaches—active as well as passive in both equities and fixed‐income—explain how and why they use ESG information when evaluating companies and making their investment decisions. There was general agreement that successful ESG investing depends on integrating ESG factors with the methods and data of traditional “fundamental” financial statement analysis. And in support of this claim, a number of the panelists noted that some of the world's best “business value investors,” including Warren Buffett, have long incorporated environmental, social, and governance considerations into their investment decision‐making. In the analysis of such active fundamental investors, ESG concerns tend to show up as risk factors that can translate into higher costs of capital and lower values. And companies' effectiveness in managing such factors, as ref lected in high ESG scores and rankings, is viewed by many fundamental investors as an indicator of management “quality,” a reliable demonstration of the corporate commitment to investing in the company's future. Moreover, some fixed‐income investors are equally if not more concerned than equity investors about ESG exposures. ESG factors can have pronounced effects on performance by generating “tail risks” that can materialize in both going‐concern and default scenarios. And the rating agencies have long attempted to reflect some of these risks in their analysis, though with mixed success. What is relatively new, however, is the frequency with which fixed income investors are engaging companies on ESG topics. And even large institutional investors with heavily indexed portfolios have become more aggressive in engaging their portfolio companies on ESG issues. Although the traditional ESG filters used by such investors were designed mainly just to screen out tobacco, firearms, and other “sin” shares from equity portfolios, investors' interest in “tilting” their portfolios toward positive sustainability factors, in the form of lowcarbon and gender‐balanced ETFs and other kinds of “smart beta” portfolios, has gained considerable momentum.     

An examination of determinants influencing the desire for and frequency of part-day and whole-day homeworking

This paper presents findings and analysis based upon the third wave of a national longitudinal survey in the UK which is examining part-day homeworking and comparing it with whole-day homeworking. Survey results confirm earlier findings that there is a higher incidence, amongst full-time paid employees, of part-day homeworking than whole-day homeworking. The paper then separately examines determinants of the desire to part-day homework and whole-day homework and determinants of the reported frequency of part-day homeworking and whole-day homeworking. The determinants considered are socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents and belief statements relating to homeworking. Four statements are found to be relevant to desire to part-day and to whole-day homework: avoiding interruptions at work; avoiding wasted time in traffic; other household members appreciating the employee homeworking; and working longer hours. A similar comparison concerning actual frequency of homeworking finds that employer support is relevant for both homeworking practices, with part-day homeworking being associated with avoiding interruptions at work and whole-day homeworking frequency also being associated with commute struggle. For both forms of working practice, the belief statements are better able to explain desire to homework (more) than to explain frequency of homeworking. This is perhaps not surprising given the variability of work patterns at the level of the individual that can occur from week-to-week. The better performance of desire models for whole-day homeworking compared to those for part-day homeworking suggest that other factors are at play that remain to be identified in future examination of part-day homeworking.     

Why Global Policy Co-ordination Is Crucidl？

How times change! Months ago, world leaders gathered at the London Summit and agreed to co-ordinate economic policies. Acting together, they pulled the world economy back from the brink. Depression was avoided. Recovery followed.     

Does strategic involvement of mental health service users and carers in the planning,design and commissioning of mental health services lead to better outcomes?

There is an assumption, explicit in the current government policy, that involvement of mental health service users and carers in the planning, design and commissioning of mental health services will lead to better outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine evidence from board‐level participation of service users and carers that might support this assumption. A thematic analysis of documents generated by a strategic Lancashire Mental Health and Social Care Partnership during 2007 was undertaken. Themes for the analysis were generated from priorities identified from a postal survey of mental health services users from across Lancashire. The findings indicate that whilst service user and carer involvement is a high priority, the Lancashire Partnership spent most of its time discussing process and actions. Where service user involvement resulted in better outcomes, these improved outcomes were limited to the individual service users involved, rather than better outcomes for all service users. Whilst the membership of mental health service users and carers on the Lancashire Partnership Board presents a visible commitment from senior officers and may confer greater legitimacy to the decisions made by the Lancashire Partnership, service users and carers do not appear to play the desired instrumental role. Rather, their presence may be largely symbolic. This sends out the message across the health and social care system that partnership with service users and carers and their empowerment is important and has the potential to evolve further.