New Institutional Economics' contribution to strategic groups analysis

Rather than consider the two broad strands of strategic group research—performance‐based and behavior‐based studies—as competing approaches, we argue that they relate to complementary levels of analysis. We present a four‐level framework for analyzing structures within industries drawn from New Institutional Economics (NIE) which covers different approaches to strategic group formation from institutional isomorphism and embeddedness through to the firm‐level effects of certain resource deployments. We apply an institutional approach to a case study of the Australian banking industry and supplement this with a quantitative approach based around key strategic variables. This analysis suggests that distinct groups have emerged due to the institutional environment and the different regulatory environments experienced by various banks in the industry. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How global is the Global Compact?

Launched by the United Nations in 2000, the Global Compact (GC) promotes private sector compliance with 10 basic principles covering human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption. Its sponsors aim to establish a global corporate social responsibility (CSR) network based on a pledge to observe the 10 principles adopted by companies across the range of company size and regional origin, backed by a modest reporting system and collaborative programmes. The author analyzes the GC's progress toward building a global network from its launch through 2006 and finds that, while the GC's nominal membership base of nearly 3000 companies makes it the largest system among collective action institutions (CAIs) for corporate responsibility, the GC has not reached 'critical mass'. Deficiencies in its nascent global network include limited market penetration among the largest corporations, a membership heavily weighted toward Western European companies, and major weaknesses in compliance with its reporting system. The author concludes that the GC must improve both penetration and compliance if it is to succeed in building a global standard for CSR.     

Enacting risk reduction: an examination of the volitional stages of smoking cessation within Scotland

This study examines an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in the context of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) as an aid to smoking cessation. An attempt is made to address the intention–behaviour gap identified in the literature by specifically focusing on the role and interrelationships of volitional stages, namely intention, planning and anticipated effort. A convenience sample of 207 female smokers, aged 16–36, provided information about their views, attitudes and volitional behaviour regarding the use of NRT as an aid to smoking cessation. Results of this study show the TPB to be pertinent, accounting for 41% of the variance in intention to use NRT as an aid to smoking cessation. Furthermore, behavioural intention is found to mediate the relationship between the TPB antecedents (attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control) and each of the two volitional elements, planning and anticipated effort. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Relation Between Investor Uncertainty and Market Reactions to Earnings Announcements: Evidence from the Property‐Casualty Insurance Industry in the USA

Abstract:   This paper investigates the relationship between investor uncertainty, gauged by properties of analysts' forecasts, and the stock market response to earnings. We find that uncertainty is best characterized by a comprehensive measure recently proposed by Barron, Kim, Lim and Stevens (1998) , BKLS. The BKLS measure is related to uncertainty‐inducing events, as well as factors that affect the difficulty faced by analysts in forecasting earnings. We conclude that, first, pre‐disclosure uncertainty is a significant determinant of the price reaction to the earnings release, and second, BKLS is a more comprehensive measure of uncertainty than simple dispersion.     

Rescaling and reforming the state under NAFTA: implications for subnational authority

The new free trade agreements are rescaling governance in ways that have critical implications for subnational governments. The nation state is not simply being hollowed out; rather, a new governance nexus is forming — of nation states, multinational corporations and international agreements — which explicitly excludes subnational and local government voice. This article describes the new governance features of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and illustrates how they work out at the national, subnational and local scales using cases from the United States and Mexico. NAFTA provides the template for other free trade agreements including the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and a growing number of bilateral agreements. We show how NAFTA's governance structure is undermining subnational and local government authority in legislative and judicial arenas. Designed to advance privatization of public services, these agreements undermine the very ability of local governments to use markets for public goods by defining traditional state and local governance mechanisms as ‘non‐tariff barriers to trade’. Contradictions between private profit and public interest appear at the subnational level but their resolution is engaged at the global level between private investors and the nation state. Recognition of this rescaling requires attention to the reforming state and its implications for subnational authority and democratic representation and voice. Les nouveaux accords de libre‐échange ré‐échelonne la gouvernance selon des modalités aux implications critiques pour les gouvernements infra‐nationaux. L'État‐nation n'est pas seulement en train d'êvidé de son contenu, mais une nouvelle sphère de gouvernance se forme —à partir d'États‐nations, de groupes multinationaux et d'ententes internationales —, excluant explicitement toute voix de gouvernements locaux ou infra‐nationaux. Cet article décrit les nouvelles caractéristiques de la gouvernance selon l'Accord de Libre‐Échange Nord‐Américain (ALENA) et illustre, avec les cas des Etats‐Unis et du Mexique, comment elles opèrent aux échelons national, infra‐national et local. L'ALENA fournit un modèle pour d'autres accords de libre‐échange, comme la Zone de Libre‐Échange des Amériques (ZLEA) et un nombre croissant de conventions bilatérales. L'article montre comment la structure de gouvernance de l'ALENA mine l'autorité des gouvernements locaux et infra‐nationaux dans les domaines législatif et judiciaire. Destinés à favoriser la privatisation des services publics, ces accords sapent l'aptitude même des gouvernements locaux à recourir aux marchés pour les marchandises publiques, puisqu'ils définissent les mécanismes de gouvernance locale et étatique traditionnels comme des ‘barrières commerciales non‐douanières’. Les contradictions entre profit privé et intérêt public apparaissent au niveau infra‐national, mais leur résolution est entreprise au niveau mondial entre investisseurs privés et État‐nation. La reconnaissance de ce décalage d'échelon appelle à s'intéresser à l'État réformateur et aux implications pour toute autorité infra‐nationale et représentation ou voix démocratique.     

The tradeoff between mortgage prepayments and tax-deferred retirement savings

Many households face the tradeoff between paying an extra dollar off the remaining mortgage on their house and saving that extra dollar in tax-deferred accounts (TDAs) used for retirement. We show that, under certain conditions, it becomes a tax arbitrage to reduce mortgage prepayments and to increase TDA contributions because of the tax deductibility of mortgage interest and tax-exemption of qualified retirement savings. Using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, we document that a significant number of households that are accelerating their mortgage payments instead of saving in TDAs forgo a profitable tax arbitrage opportunity. Finally, we show empirically that this inefficient behavior is unlikely to be driven by liquidity or other financial constraints. Rather, the observed behavior can be attributed to a certain extent to the reluctance of many households to participate in financial markets as either lenders or borrowers.