Consumer creativity: Effects of gender and variation in the richness of vision and touch inputs

This study investigates the influence of vision and touch inputs and gender on the creativity of consumer-derived product concepts. Manipulating vision and touch richness affects how much information is apprehended from product components. Tests include solid three-dimensional components (rich inputs) and line-diagram two-dimensional components (impoverished inputs). In a controlled laboratory setting, consumers imagined products, and the product concepts' creativity was assessed on functionality and novelty. Results show that higher vision levels and touch inputs enhance the product concept's functionality, while lower levels of vision and touch inputs enhance novelty. Gender modestly affects both functionality and novelty, with women generally more creative in designing products than men.     

The Value of Information: The Impact of European Union Bank Stress Tests on Stock Markets

International Advances in Economic Research - We tested whether the 2010, 2011 and 2014 European Union bank stress tests produced useful and real information to the market. Using an augmented...     

Keys to success in investment rounds by immigrant entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley

This study presents an updated diagnosis of the SV ecosystem itself and offers an insight into the entrepreneurial mobility trends prospects and expectations of the growing number of start-ups launched by immigrant entrepreneurs arriving in SV. The purpose is to determine and rank the attributes most valued by investors when assessing projects and start-ups founded by immigrant entrepreneurs. The model of analysis composed by three hypotheses leads to a series of findings about the profile and expectations of the immigrant entrepreneurs, and reveals remarkable hints and key targets to be met by immigrant entrepreneurs in SV in order to successfully close investment rounds in a hypercompetitive environment. The study discloses the low impact of the founder’s profile as a driver of external investment. A key conclusion states that Venture Capitalists and Business Angels in the top-ranked entrepreneurial ecosystem are primarily led by factors linked to the competitive environment and the product development process, along with the traditional performance indicators: revenue and profitability.

     

Learning from accidents: Updates of the European regulation on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation

Civil aviation has a longstanding tradition of investigating accidents and reporting incidents, which contributes to making aviation one of the safest forms of transport.To make flying safer, independent investigation into accidents is essential as it the surest way of identifying the causes of an accident and answering the fundamental questions “What really happened?” and “What can be done to prevent similar incidents in the future?”.The obligation to investigate accidents is enshrined in the Chicago Convention of 1944. Recognizing the importance of accident investigation, the European Union adopted Council Directive 94/56/EC establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents and later on Directive 2003/42/EC on occurrence reporting. They both significantly contributed to harmonization of accident prevention.But with air traffic steadily increasing, accidents do happen despite the best efforts of regulators and industry. The organization of the air transport sector is much more complex now than it was a decade ago. Today there is significant divergence in the investigating capacity of the EU Member States compared to 1994. Furthermore nowadays investigating air accidents take new kinds of expertise and more resources than a decade ago. At the same time there is a new legal and institutional environment in Europe derived from the adoption of European aviation safety rules. Also the organizational set-up has changed substantially with the establishment of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is now responsible for certifying aircraft in the EU. The EU rules on investigating air accidents need to be updated to reflect the current realities of Europe's aviation market and the complexity of the global aviation industry.Accordingly, over the last few years the European Commission has been working on a Regulation on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation, with the intention of updating and replacing the existing Directive. With this new regulation the Commission aims to promote more efficient and independent inquiries into the causes of air accidents and also expects to strengthen the rights of the victims of air accidents.Today the end is in sight, once that the Commission and European Parliament have reached an agreement about the content and text of this new regulation. Reasons behind this new regulation are presented in this paper together with a detailed explanation of its main contents, an assessment of their impact and their expected benefits.     

Academics' organizational characteristics and the generation of successful business ideas

This paper deals with the generation of Business Ideas (BI) by academics. It investigates organizational factors affecting the process through which new ventures are established by academics and are likely to affect their performance. The BI Market Attractiveness and the BI Articulation are addressed as two characteristics of academic spin-off companies which are likely to lead to their success. Two research hypotheses are formulated: (a) that the BI Market Attractiveness at the time of establishment of the new venture is positively influenced by the market orientation of the academic founders, and by their frequency of interaction with external agents; (b) that the BI Articulation at the time of establishment of the new venture is positively affected by the articulation of roles, and by the degree of prior joint experience of the academic founders. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 42 Italian academic start-ups. Implications for both universities and academic entrepreneurs are discussed.     

Gender as a determinant of small business performance: Insights from a British study

The performance of small businesses, that is the ability of small firms to contribute to job and wealth creation through business start-up, survival and growth, has been an important area of policy and academic debate in the 1980s. Surprisingly little has been written about gender and small business performance. Our literature search revealed only a small number of studies of any substance on this subject, though over forty made some mention of it, Most studies shied away from direct examination of quantitative performance measures (such as jobs created, sales turnover, annual growth), tending to concentrate on qualitative measures of success or failure. The paper examines small business performance and gender using data obtained from a survey of 600 (300 women, 300 men) Scottish and English small business ownermanagers, part of a three year study on the impact of gender on small business management. Analyses suggest that the relationship between gender and small business performance is complex, but that gender still appears to be a significant determinant even after other key factors are controlled for.     

Quality of schooling and inequality of opportunity in health

This paper explores the role of quality of schooling as a source of inequality of opportunity in health. Substantiating earlier literature that links differences in education to health disparities, the paper uses variation in quality of schooling to test for inequality of opportunity in health. Analysis of the 1958 NCDS cohort exploits the variation in type and quality of schools generated by the comprehensive schooling reforms in England and Wales. The analysis provides evidence of a statistically significant and economically sizable association between some dimensions of quality of education and a range of health and health-related outcomes. For some outcomes the association persists, over and above the effects of measured ability, social development, academic qualifications and adult socioeconomic status and lifestyle.     

Green Product Innovation: Where we are and Where we are Going

Green product innovation (GPI) is becoming more and more relevant for policy makers, companies and society as a whole. As a result, over the last few years the number of studies on GPI development has increased substantially, thus prompting the need to analyse and synthesize the results of these studies. With this aim, this study reviews the body of knowledge on the topic. In particular, a systematic review of the literature is conducted, guided by three main research questions. Specifically, this paper identifies the antecedents, the outcomes and the success factors for GPI development. 63 studies are included in the review. Results show that many factors drive the development of GPI, both internal and external to the firm. Among internal factors, the most important are the prospect of competitive advantage, cost reduction, market benefits, improved reputation and opportunities for innovation. Among external factors, the most important are environmental regulations – current and/or expected – and market demand. In terms of outcomes, this study provides evidence that the most relevant ones are cost savings, achievement of competitive advantage, increased market share, increased sales, increased turnover, higher profits, better reputation, increased exports and higher productivity. Finally, this study highlights that many factors can influence the successful development of GPI, such as top management commitment, building networks of collaborations as well as enhancing knowledge flows, both within and outside the firm, cross‐functional integration and development of resources and capabilities. This study provides important implications for companies, policy makers and scholars. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

The International Financial Crisis Viewed by Experts

The occurrence of the international financial crisis and the spread out of its effects on the global economy prompted experts around the world to think about how to manage the crisis and which measures to implement in order to restore normal economic and financial conditions. In this paper, we present and discuss the results of an international expert survey. We use these experts' perceptions to pursue a twofold target to understand their perceptions about the causes of the crisis, and of the policies to solve it. Interestingly, experts seem to broadly concur on what caused the crisis but their perceptions diverge regarding the policies. Furthermore, substantial differences in perceptions emerge between the Euro Area and the United States. We also find that the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank monetary policies during the crisis are judged barely adequate. Finally, different views distinguish academicians from other experts .     

虚拟会议一定是明确的——如何定义新型会议活动的战略价值

过去会议人士使用虚拟会议只是一次性的，今天，他们要把虚拟会议技术融入策略性管理中，成为其中的一部分。根据MPI基金会和全球战略会议管理公司Maxvantage最近进行的调查结果显示，部分公司每年安排了上百场的虚拟会议。 这份研究结果通过网上问卷调查和定性访谈的方式得出，展示出业内专家对于虚拟会议定义的一致性，但是其在各...