The effect of firm complexity and founding team size on agile internal communication in startups

Today’s firms, particularly startups, require agile communication to sense and seize opportunities and to adapt to the market as quickly as possible (Picken 2017; Takeuchi and Nonaka 1986). However, scholars have predominantly focused on external communication, taking agile internal communication for granted. This paper analyzes the combinations of conditions (i.e., firm features and communication devices) that are present in startups with agile internal communication. The study considers the startup’s life cycle, the size of the startup, and the size of the founding team. The use of direct communication channels, structured communication channels, and agile methods is also considered. Analysis of 88 Spanish startups shows that the size of the founding team influences the combination of present and absent communication methods when agile internal communication is present. In startups where the founding team is small, direct communication methods are absent, whereas the use of structured communication methods, online project management, and other communication tools is present. On the contrary, when the founding team size is large, direct communication is a core condition, as is the absence of structured communication methods. Agile methods represent a peripheral condition for the presence of agile internal communication when the founding team is small and structured communication is present as a core condition. Similarly, when the founding team is small and the presence of direct communication is a core condition, the presence of agile methods is a peripheral condition for the presence of agile internal communication.

     

Investment Crowding‐Out and Labor Market Effects of Financialization in the US

This paper studies the impact of financialization on unemployment in the United States. We estimate a dynamic multi‐equation macro labor model including labor demand, labor suppy, wage‐setting, and capital accumulation equations. Financialization appears as a key determinant of capital accumulation which, in turn, is the transmission channel toward its unemployment effects. We conduct a series of counterfactual simulations where we quantify the macroeconomic consequences of the recent swings experienced by the financialization process. We find that it has had relevant unemployment effects in all periods considered, even in those where financial payments were not the main driver of capital accumulation. We also identify a structural change in the financialization process in the early 1980s, and find that it has caused USA unemployment to systematically fluctuate around 2 percentage points above what it would otherwise have done. We call for a reappraisal of the way financial markets work, and stress the vital need of preventing financial devices that result in productive investment crowding‐out.     

“Do incentives matter to promote high technology-driven entrepreneurial activity?”

A productive human capital is a necessary but not sufficient condition for regional economic growth. An additional condition is the adequate allocation of talented people in innovative entrepreneurial activities, which according to previous literature have a higher social value than traditional ones. Using a large and representative sample of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) located in the Basque Autonomous Community (Spain), we empirically analyze, separately in manufacture and services, whether individual incentives and market conditions are aligned in such a way that the talent is properly allocated in innovative entrepreneurial activities. Through a novel use of existing empirical methods we find that (i) entrepreneurs operating in high-tech sectors have, on average, more entrepreneurial talent and private returns than their counterparts; and that (ii) entrepreneurial talent and private returns are positively and significantly correlated. These novel insights suggest that private and social incentives are adequately aligned.     

Mapas cognitivos difusos para la selección de proyectos de tecnologías de la información

The evaluation and selection of information technology projects is one of the most complex decision-making processes. To achieve alignment between projects and strategy is very important to analyze the goals and processes inside the organization. This paper presents a model for the selection of IT projects, based on the analysis of enterprise architecture. The proposal makes use of causal relations modelling using fuzzy cognitive maps. This approach facilitates the evaluation and selection of a project portfolio in order to achieve the desired future state of enterprise architecture. The model represents an attractive alternative or complement to existing methods in the evaluation of IT initiatives. A case study showing the application of the model to a professional services organization for the transformation of the enterprise architecture is shown.     

Financial hedging with derivatives and its impact on the Colombian market value for listed companies

The financial theory (Modigliani & Miller, 1958) presents risk management as a matter without importance in companies, given that the shareholders themselves managed their hedges, diversifying their portfolios. However, subsequent studies dispute said premise and present evidence that business financial hedging improves performance and increases the value of the same (Ahmed, Azevedo, & Guney, 2014; Allayannis & Weston, 2001; Kapitsinas, 2008). The efficient market risk management is supported in the financial derivatives, and demands strategic and efficient administrators in hedges that add value, especially in the face of clashes and macroeconomic and financial imbalances. The empirical evidence analyzes the behavior of the Q-Tobin as an indicator of the effect of the hedge strategies for the exchange rate associated to the market value. The aim of this work is to find evidence in Colombia on the effect of the use of derivatives in the market value of the company. Its added value lies in the analysis that is done by economic sectors, identified by ISIC codes and grouped into five (5) macro sectors (Agriculture and livestock, Commercial, Industrial or Manufacture, Services, and Construction). The methodology used includes the estimation of several regression models in data panels, using a Pooled regression model with fixed and random effect estimators through the maximum likelihood estimator. In general, a statistical and financially significant premium for hedges was found for companies exposed to exchange rate risks that use derivatives of a 6.3% average on the market value. Additionally, mixed results were found in relation to the variables analyzed in the model.     

Spatial allocation of forest recreation value

Non-market valuation methods and geographic information systems are useful planning and management tools for public land managers. Recent attention has been given to investigation and demonstration of methods for combining these tools to provide spatially-explicit representations of non-market value. Most of these efforts have focused on spatial allocation of ecosystem service values based on land cover types, but recreation value has yet to be considered. This article presents an objective method for spatially allocating forest recreation value that is based on readily available data, demonstrates the method for a Southern California study site, and discusses the policy relevance of the method and how it might be extended to other applications and tested with additional primary survey data.     

A machine learning approach to big data regression analysis of real estate prices for inferential and predictive purposes

The hedonic price regressions have mainly been used for inference. In contrast, machine learning employed on big data has a great potential for prediction. To contribute to the integration of these two strategies, this article proposes a machine learning approach to the regression analysis of big data, viz. real estate prices, for both inferential and predictive purposes. The methodology incorporates a new procedure of selecting variables, called ‘incremental sample with resampling’ (MINREM). The methodology is tested on two cases. The first is data from web advertisements selling used homes in Colombia (61,826 observations). The second considers the data (58,888 observations) from a sample of the Metropolitan American Housing Survey 2011 obtained and prepared by a reference study. The methodology consists of two stages. The first chooses the important variables under MINREM; the second focuses on the traditional training and validation procedure for machine learning, adding three activities. In both test cases, the methodology shows its value for obtaining highly parsimonious and stable models for different sample sizes, as well as taking advantage of the inferential and predictive use of the obtained regression functions. This paper contributes to an original methodology for big data regression analysis.     

A Honey‐Sealed Alliance: Mayan Beekeepers in the Yucatan Peninsula versus Transgenic Soybeans in Mexico's Last Tropical Forest

The peasant economy of the Yucatan Peninsula is sustained by agriculture and beekeeping. Honey production has great economic importance, given that it represents the main source of income for Mayan rural families. Furthermore, Mexico is the world's fourth‐largest exporter of honey. The honey comes from jungle that covers the peninsular territory and forms part of a production system that broadly utilizes forestry resources. Two new situations emerged in 2011 that detonated social mobilization to defend beekeeping: the Mexican government authorized the planting of transgenic soybeans, while the European Union announced that honey that originated from transgenic pollen would have to be labelled (‘contains transgenics’), whereas honey importers demand transgenic‐free honey. The introduction of transgenic soybeans in the Yucatan Peninsula is part of the modern, industrial agricultural impetus in the region, which is entering into conflict with the Mayan peasant agriculture and threatens the survival of the most important Mexican tropical forest. A movement alliance was built among different social actors, including Mayan communities, beekeeper and civil‐society organizations, universities and honey‐exporting entrepreneurs, who developed an opposition and a resistance strategy to the cultivation of transgenic soybeans. Their repertoire has included collective legal, educational and organizational action, scientific research, mobilization, information, a media presence and lobbying. This mobilization has yielded results, as in 2015 the judiciary power invalidated the authorization of the cultivation of transgenic soybeans.     

Special issue: Qualitative and quantitative methods in tourism research

Quality & Quantity -     

Do Mexican Companies Culturally Adapt Their Websites?

Although some articles have tried to address the standardization/adaptation strategies of companies on the internet, there is still a lack of guidance on the issue, especially for companies outside of the United States. To help alleviate this shortage of guidance and provide Mexican web designers, web marketers, and IT managers with some insights into web cultural adaptation, this article conducted a comparative analysis of Mexican based companies’ domestic websites and their U.S. international websites, replicating a cultural adaptation framework from prior literature. Thirteen Mexican based Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (2005) companies were evaluated to test for the cultural adaptation of their Mexican and international websites. A content analysis of 26 Mexican domestic and U.S. international websites reveals non-significant cultural adaptation on the web; however, the results of the web content analysis are similar to those of previous research, which consider Mexican culture to score high in power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and high-context cultural dimensions. However, for the collectivistic dimension, the results were opposite to those of previous research, which may suggest a need to develop and test other cultural adaptation frameworks for future research.