Alcohol abuse among adolescents: regional evidence from Spain

The aim of this paper is to offer regional evidence from Spain on alcohol abuse among adolescents. Specifically, we identify the determinants of the decision to abuse alcohol with respect to the five most important regions of Spain, as well as for the country as a whole. To this end, we estimate Probit specifications using data drawn from the Spanish Surveys on Drug Use in the School Population corresponding to 1994, 1996 and 1998. The results first reveal patterns that are qualitatively similar, but quantitatively different. Similarly, it would appear that economic policies aimed at reducing the access of adolescents to alcohol may have a positive effect on reducing abuse. Finally, the results suggest that encouragement be given to healthy habits among young people, as well as to the fight against education failure and the launching of information campaigns that accurately portray the current lifestyle of adolescents.     

An Empirical Analysis of the Effect of Financial Distress on Trade Credit

This paper studies the use of supplier's trade credit by firms in financial distress. Trade credit represents a large portion of firms’ short‐term financing and plays an important role in financial distress. We find that firms in financial distress use a significantly larger amount of trade credit to substitute for alternative sources of financing. Firms that are smaller, with less market power, and with more unique products tend to use more trade credit financing when in distress. We also find that firms that significantly increase their trade payables when in financial distress, experience an additional drop of at least 11% in sales and profitability growth over the previously documented 21% average drop for financially troubled firms.     

Trade Receivables Policy of Distressed Firms and Its Effect on the Costs of Financial Distress

This paper studies the trade receivables policy of distressed firms as the trade-off between the firm's willingness to gain sales and the firm's need for cash. We find that firms increase trade receivables when they have profitability problems, but reduce trade receivables when they have cash flow problems. We also find that a firm that significantly cuts its trade receivables when in financial distress will experience an additional drop of at least 13% in sales and stock returns over the previously documented 20% average drop for financially troubled firms. Moreover, the performance decline of a firm in financial distress is significantly higher if the firm cuts trade receivables than if it does not.     

The public bond offering of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.

In April 2007, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) issued debt for USD 7.5 billion, the largest debt offering to date by a Latin American company. The conditions surrounding this issue, which was denominated and tradable in dollars, but payable in bolivars, were quite special, particularly when considering the strict foreign exchange control system put into place by the Venezuelan government in 2003. The fact that the bond issue attempted to fulfill the dual purpose of offering dollars to local companies and investors in the midst of prevailing exchange rate controls, while helping to finance PDVSA as a company, creates a unique dilemma that is ideal for class discussion. This teaching case provides the information necessary for estimating and proposing a price for PDVSA's bond offer.     

Impact of Market Orientation and ICT on the Performance of Rural Smaller Service Enterprises*

Market orientation (MO) is considered as a competitive strategy for the smaller service enterprises based in rural locations. A model is proposed and validated for the rural tourism sector that encompasses the effects of MO and of the use of information and communications technology (ICT) on business activity, taking into account the business's financial results, improvements to the rural location, and the more personal, intangible impact on the local entrepreneur. ICT is found to have a positive impact on MO and outcomes, whereas, similarly, the adoption of MO is found to have a positive effect on outcomes.     

The effect of a destination branding strategy for rural tourism on the perceived value of the conservation of the indigenous resources of the rural tourism destination: the case of Spain

The identification of mechanisms that encourage the tourism sector to contribute to sustainable conservation is of great interest. The present work proposes the use of destination branding based on contribution to the conservation of the indigenous resources of the rural tourist destination, and studies the effect this has on perceived value for the tourist visiting the destination. A scale of destination brand identity is validated, along with a scale for destination brand positioning and another for perceived value, as viewed by the tourist, of contribution to sustainable conservation. The perceived value scale offers an overall perspective which includes: functional-affective factors; benefits–sacrifices; the pre-visit stage; and the stay in the rural tourism location. These findings make a new contribution to both literature and to the professional sector.     

What are the main factors attracting visitors to wineries? A PLS multi-group comparison

This article focuses on the study of the main factors attracting visitors, not only new ones, to wineries, and also on how to keep these customers loyal. This research fills a gap in wine tourism literature, taking into account the differences between brand image and destination image as antecedents of brand equity in wine tourism destinations. The empirical analysis has been carried out with two Spanish denominations of origin, Rioja and Navarra, selected by Nielsen’s market share. Particularly, this study draws from a survey of 232 visitors who visited the wineries during the autumn of 2010. The development of a model of wine tourism destination brand equity provides empirical support in order to evaluate the influence of destination image and brand image on brand equity. Before testing the hypotheses, the measuring instrument was evaluated by means of partial least squares regression. A multi-group analysis was carried out to determine the main differences between these two denominations of origin. The paper hereby recommends the creation of alliances among wine companies and tourism industry (hotels, restaurants, active tourism companies, spa resorts, and so on) to succeed in their own businesses. Finally, limitations are outlined to encourage further research.     

Speed to Market for Innovative Products: Blessing or Curse?

The relationships among speed to market, quality, and costs are important to managers as they attempt to best establish incentives and set goals for new product development teams, allocate resources for new product development, or create positional advantage in the market. The existing literature suggests that the economic consequences of being late to the market are significant, including higher development and manufacturing costs, lower profit margins, and lessening of the firm's market value. Therefore, traditional logic has held that new product development managers need to manage the trade‐offs among speed to market, quality, and costs. While both scholars and managers have often acquiesced to performance trade‐offs among “faster, better, and cheaper,” this research attempts to improve understanding of the interrelationships between these objectives, and ultimately profit. Based on a survey of 197 managers, faster speed to market is shown to be related to better quality and lower costs; it is not necessary to sacrifice one of these outcomes. Further, the moderating roles of two dimensions of innovativeness (innovativeness to the firm and to the market) are examined on the relationships between speed and quality, as well as speed and profit. Both dimensions of innovativeness positively moderate the relationship between speed to market and quality. For more innovative products (both to the firm and the market), there is a stronger positive relationship between speed and quality than for less innovative products. Further, innovativeness to the firm negatively moderates the relationship between speed and profit. Thus, speed has a less positive impact on profit for highly innovative‐to‐the‐firm products compared with less innovative‐to‐the‐firm products. By being conscious of the projects’ levels of innovativeness (along with prioritizing various performance measures), managers can more rationally decide when to emphasize speed to market based on this study's findings.     

Loving Outside the Neighborhood: The Conflicting Effects of External Linkages on Incremental Innovation in Clusters

The present study assesses the explanatory capacity of three levels of factors, namely, internal to the company, and internal and external to the cluster, in predicting firms' incremental innovative performance in cluster contexts. The empirical research conducted here focuses on a sample of 92 companies from the Spanish textile industrial cluster in Valencia. Findings reveal that the significant role played by firms' interorganizational ties as a moderating factor between absorptive capacity and their incremental innovative performance. Additionally, results reflect the differentiated roles developed by intra‐ and extra‐cluster linkages in these interaction processes.     

Distance to Customers,Absorptive Capacity,and Innovation in High‐Tech Firms: The Dark Face of Geographical Proximity

This paper investigates the impact of both geographical and relational proximity on the innovative performance of the firm. We address the role of one firm characteristic—its absorptive capacity—as a specific contingency affecting the relationship between different proximities and innovation. Using data from 158 high‐tech firms located in the Tiburtina Valley in Italy, we studied the relationship between these firms and their key customers. Our findings support the need to downplay the role of geographical proximity in promoting innovation. Our results also show that relational proximity to key customers has a complementary relationship with absorptive capacity, which positively moderates its influence on innovative performance.