Efficient moral hazard

This paper presents an infinite-horizon, discounted dynamic programming model of the endogenous opportunity costs of an agent’s effort that is allocated among an endogenous number of principals. An agent allocates effort between evaluating new principals and attending to current principals. Since each principal’s return is not maximized by the agent’s optimal allocation, moral hazard occurs in equilibrium. However, since the agent maximizes the total expected value of all undertaken projects, the agent’s allocation of effort is efficient. If the agent chooses a single principal, then moral hazard does not occur and the allocation is efficient. These results are contrary to the inefficient moral hazard results in bilateral principal-agent (P-A) and common agency (C-A) models.     

On the Grouping of Tasks into Firms: Make‐or‐Buy with Interdependent Parts*

We study the division of labor within production systems and look for the optimal grouping of tasks into firms. Using a unique dataset on the global automobile industry, we present evidence consistent with the prediction that pairs of tasks requiring more frequent mutual adaptation are more likely to be performed by the same firm. By taking account of interdependencies between tasks, our econometric approach generalizes standard make‐or‐buy analysis and yields improvements in predictive accuracy.     

Teenagers’ use of alternative shopping channels: A consumer socialization perspective

The consumer socialization (CS) perspective is applied to explore factors that influence a developing consumers’ use of different shopping channels—mall and Internet. The effects of channel involvement, access to funds, access to the channel, and socialization agent communication on adolescent shopping and intentions are examined using a high school student sample. Results indicate that involvement with a channel has a major influence on agent communication, time and money spent, and future intentions to shop in that channel. Agent communication was also found to influence shopping behaviors and intentions. Differences between channels are noted. Additional findings, implications, limitations, and future research directions are also presented.     

Who Gets More of the Pie? Predictors of Perceived Gender Inequity at Work

Gender inequity is prevalent in the workplace. It violates the principle of equal treatment for all employees, and often leads to problems with retention, morale, and performance. Individuals, however, may have different perceptions of gender inequity. In this study, we examined the relationship between individual and organizational level variables and perceived gender inequity for a sample of church workers. Regression analysis was used to test several hypotheses informed by social psychological theories. The results showed that (1) individuals perceived gender inequity in the workplace; (2) organizational level variables had more effect on perceived gender inequity than individual level variables; and (3) compared to men, women perceived greater gender inequity favoring males. Discussion, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.     

The prospects of a monetary union in East Asia

This paper assesses the empirical desirability of the East Asian economies to form a monetary union. The Structural Vector Autoregression (VAR) method is employed to assess the nature of macroeconomic disturbances among the East Asian countries, as a preliminary guide in identifying potential candidates for forming an Optimum Currency Area (OCA). In comparison with European countries, East Asia has less symmetric underlying structural shocks but the speed of adjustment to shocks is much faster. The empirical results suggest that there exists a scope among some small sub-regions, comprising mainly of ASEAN countries, for potential monetary integration. The finding of an increased symmetry of shocks among countries after the Asian Financial crisis indicates that the regional policy-coordinating effort after the crisis has put the region on the right track if monetary union is a desired goal.     

Funding conditions for aid effectiveness: A mixed blessing for the sustainable development of host‐country‐national employees

This paper explores whether—and how—aid effectiveness funding conditions impact the human resource development of host‐country national (HCN) employees. To investigate this relationship, I conducted a phenomenological study with 31 participants from three international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs). Results suggest that the pressure toward funds accountability brings mixed blessings: From a staffing perspective, more HCNs are being hired instead of expatriates, building local capacity. However, vital training and performance review functions are cast as inefficient overheads. The paper concludes with a conceptual framework, practical strategies for INGOs and donor governments, and directions for larger scale empirical research. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The future of work and family: Critical trends for policy,practice, and research

Work/life “thought leaders” from 28 large corporations carried out an environmental scanning process with the objective of linking work/life policies and practices to critical business and environmental trends. Globalization, technological change, and organizational flexibility are trends that have been commonly identified in other environmental scanning efforts, but their relationship to work/life issues has often been ignored. Similarly, the relationship of changing family structures to business goals has not received the attention it deserves. Through this linking process, work/life advocates can demonstrate the value of their efforts to other corporate decision makers. Innovative corporate work/life initiatives that are responsive to these important trends are described. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The decline of science in corporate R&D

Research summary: In this article, we document a shift away from science by large corporations between 1980 and 2006. We find that publications by company scientists have declined over time in a range of industries. We also find that the value attributable to scientific research has dropped, whereas the value attributable to technical knowledge (as measured by patents) has remained stable. These trends are unlikely to be driven principally by changes in publication practices. Furthermore, science continues to be useful as an input into innovation. Our evidence points to a reduction of the private benefits of internal research. Large firms still value the golden eggs of science (as reflected in patents), but seem to be increasingly unwilling to invest in the golden goose itself (the internal scientific capabilities). Managerial summary: There is a widespread belief among commentators that large American corporations are withdrawing from research. Large corporations may still collaborate with universities and acquire promising science‐based start‐ups, but their labs increasingly focus on developing existing knowledge and commercializing it, rather than creating new knowledge. In this article, we combine firm‐level financial information with a large and comprehensive data set on firm publications, patents and acquisitions to quantify the withdrawal from science by large American corporations between 1980 and 2006. This withdrawal is associated with a decline in the private value of research activities, even though scientific knowledge itself remains important for corporate invention. We discuss the managerial and policy implications of our findings.     

Exploring the dimensions of ad creativity

This study explored the influence of dimensions of creativity—novelty (expectancy), meaningfulness (relevancy), and emotion (valence of feelings)—on attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intention. The results indicate that unexpectedness enhanced ad effectiveness over expectedness when the ad has positive feelings. When the ad contains negative feelings, attitude toward the ad was diluted with unexpectedness vs. expectedness. Relevance was not critical in encouraging favorable responses when the ad is unexpected. With an unexpected–relevant–positive‐feeling ad used as the baseline, a creative ad generated more favorable attitude toward the ad than other ad conditions. However, ad creativity resulted in more favorable brand attitude and purchase intention only against selected ad conditions. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed and directions for future research furnished. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.