Cultural attributes and risk perception: the moderating role of different types of research and development

Drawing on the grid–group culture theory, this study examines hypotheses to explain how the cultural attributes of an organization influence professionals’ perceptions of risk in the context of research and development (R&D) activities. Specifically, we explore whether two dimensions of cultural attributes – the grid dimension and the group dimension – affect organizational commitment and risk perception. We also investigate whether the impact of the cultural attributes on risk perception is mediated by organizational commitment and whether different types of R&D activities – applied research and developmental research – serve as a moderating variable on the relationships among cultural attributes, organizational commitment, and risk perception. The partial least squares method was used to analyze data collected from full-time senior researchers with over five years of experience at a large technology institute. Our findings indicate that cultural attributes influence the risk perception of R&D professionals through the mediating function of organizational commitment. Further, we found that different types of R&D activities have moderating effects on the relationship between organizational commitment and risk perception.     

Population Structure and Housing Prices: Evidence from Chinese Provincial Panel Data

This study analyzes the relationship between the proportion of the economically active population aged 15–64 to total population and housing prices. A panel of 31 provinces in China from 2002 to 2014 is used in our analysis. We find empirical evidence that the impact of the population structure on housing-price growth increases as the population growth rates rise. This observation suggests that, to understand provincial housing price movements in China, one should consider the ratio of working-age population to total population in a province. The main policy implication is that Chinese policymakers need to ensure a moderated population growth to effectively promote stability in housing prices and the economy.     

An empirical analysis of audit fee price competition after the Korean 1999 Omnibus Cartel Repeal Act

This study examines the audit service market in Korea after the 1999 Omnibus Cartel Repeal Act to determine if increased competition has led to audit fee discounting. Until 19 December 2001, when the Korean government enacted The Financial Supervisory Regulations, researchers could not address questions related to price competition in the Korean audit market due to data limitations. The new regulations allow researchers to examine audit effort for the first time because both audit hours and audit fees are now recommended disclosures. We use audit fee data of Korean companies for the 6-year period 1999–2004, and find evidence that total audit fees paid have been increasing but audit fees per hour have been decreasing. We also find that Big 5 auditing firms’ fees per hour are significantly lower than non-Big 5 auditing firms and are decreasing across time. These price pressures should be of concern to regulators and investors because prior research has demonstrated that price competition leads to discounting, which can result in unrealistically low audit fees and poor audit quality. Finally, as in previous research, we also find discounting of initial audit engagements in the Korean market.     

Dually sustainable urban mobility option: Shared-taxi operations with electric vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) are energy efficient and often presented as a zero-emission transport mode to achieve long-term decarbonization visions in the transport sector. The implementation of a sustainable transportation environment through EV utilization, however, requires the addressing of certain cost and environmental concerns such as limited driving range and battery-charging issues before its full potential can be realized. Nevertheless, a specific type of use of EVs, namely in taxi services, may elicit positive public opinion, as it promises a commitment toward sustainability in urban life. In light of this, this study proposes an integrated approach that combines EV operation with a conceptual design for shared-ride taxi services. As some productivity loss may be naturally expected due to the time spent in charging, it is important to look at whether such performance loss from the passenger and system standpoints can be offset with ingenuity in operational design. In this study, an EV taxi charge-replenishing scheme that can be coupled with a real-time taxi-dispatch algorithm is designed. The proposed EV charging schemes for taxi services are studied via simulations and the effects of the limited driving range and battery-charging details are examined from a system performance viewpoint. The simulation study also reveals illustrative results on the impact of the EV taxi fleet's operation on the charging system. Next, a real-time shared-taxi operation scheme that allows ride sharing with other passengers is proposed to maximize the operational efficiency. The simulation results suggest that the shared-taxi concept can be a viable option to improve on the limitations caused by EV operation. In addition, the importance of projected charging demands and queue delays at different charging locations are also addressed. Some limitations and a future research agenda are also discussed.     

Risk perception by industrial radiographers: Hungary and the UK compared

Perceptions of risks from two groups of industrial radiographers, one from Hungary, (n = 45) and from the United Kingdom, (n = 29) were compared by the psychometric method. The comparison was made because both groups were at risk for high doses of ionizing radiation. We found the groups had similar demographic profiles but poor socio-economic conditions of Hungarians were associated with higher levels of emotional distress. Correlation HU-UK for personal and general risks were at a significant level for topics that included lifestyle and radiation risks. Perceptions of risks from radiation were small except for large personal risk from East European nuclear power plants. Knowledge of radiation risk intranationally was correlated positively with personal risk for UK radiographers and negatively for Hungarians. However, average overall risk perceptions from the same topic list for all radiographers did not differ significantly from a group (n = 1461) of UK citizens, though radiographer's risks from radiation were considerably greater. As a new lifesaving intervention it was proposed that radiation risk reduction could be achieved by genetic testing.     

Adaptive conjoint analysis for the vitalisation of angel investments by entrepreneurs

In order to promote angel investments, attracting those who have entrepreneurial experience is necessary because their capital, unique managing experience, and business insight are highly beneficial to the performance of the investment. This can be accomplished by providing a preferred investment environment for potential angels who have entrepreneurial backgrounds. In this paper, we use an adaptive conjoint analysis to identify preferred investment environments represented as a combination of support policies for business angels who have entrepreneurial experience in Korea. Of particular interest is a preference for angel insurance. This insurance is newly proposed based on prospect theory, which explains that people tend to be more sensitive to a loss than to a gain. The value of the angel insurance is compared to those of tax policies and matching funds for business angels. The empirical results are expected to contribute to promoting angel investments by attracting entrepreneurs to become business angels.     

Labor unions and post-acquisition integration capability: Evidence from goodwill impairment

We examine whether operating inflexibility posed by labor unions affects goodwill impairment. We predict such inflexibility hinders resource reallocation after acquisition, thereby preventing the acquiring firm from realizing synergies included in goodwill. Consistent with this prediction, we find that the strength of labor unions is positively associated with the likelihood and magnitude of goodwill impairment losses. Our results are robust to a battery of tests that address the potential endogeneity. Furthermore, we find that managers who possess superior ability mitigate the negative consequences of labor unions on goodwill impairment. Overall, our findings suggest that operating inflexibility posed by labor unions is an important determinant of goodwill impairment that indicates a failure to realize the expected synergy from the acquisition.     

Handelsrestriktionen gegen Russland belasten sektoral und regional unterschiedlich stark

Wirtschaftsdienst - Die militärische Eskalation in der Ukraine sowie die aufgrund der Sanktionen einsetzenden Bremseffekte für die Kapital- und Handelsströme werden die deutsche...     

A quantitative perspective of Porter's industry forces framework for investment analysis

Porter's industry forces framework is an important tool for external analysis of firms, but its qualitative nature presents numerous limitations to be used in investment analysis. This study introduces a quantitative perspective of the framework using financial information proxies. This allows investors to gauge the external factors quantitatively and to gain enhanced framework usability. In order to test its validity, the correlation movements of our quantitative perspective have been analysed. For demonstration of enhanced usability, our quantitative perspective, alongside machine learning models, was used to predict business performances. The empirical results indicate that our quantitative perspective of the framework corroborates with its original definition and that it exhibits enhanced usability than the original framework.