Franchisee-based brand equity and performance

This study focuses on the perceptions of franchisees and analyzes the influence of brand equity on franchisee performance. The factors that constitute brand equity are also assessed. Factor analysis was used to generate valid and reliable scales based on a sample of 205 Portuguese franchisee firms, and structural equation modeling methodology was then employed in the analysis. The results show franchisee-based brand equity (FBBE) to be a multivariate factor with strong influence on performance. This study contributes significantly to the literature by showing the perspective of franchisees toward franchising. It also has implications on the adequacy of corporate strategy in achieving performance.     

Anti-Competitive Impact of Pseudo-Generics

In pharmaceuticals markets, sellers of branded drugs sometimes sell generic versions of their own branded products, either directly or through license agreements. Although claims that these pseudo-generics may have anti-competitive effects are not unusual, the theoretical literature on this issue is limited and not conclusive. This paper uses a model that combines horizontal and vertical product differentiation, to explain how those effects may occur. We show that the producer of the branded product will not sell the pseudo-generic unless faced with competition and that, if she does so, in some circumstances, all prices rise to the benefit of all sellers and the detriment of consumers.     

Small agricultural businesses' performance—What is the role of dynamic capabilities,entrepreneurial orientation,and environmental sustainability commitment?

The role that the resources and capabilities of agricultural entrepreneurs play on both environmental performance (EP) and financial performance (FP) is still unclear. This study analyzes how small farms enhance EP and FP in an inland Portuguese region through the relationship between dynamic capabilities (DCs), entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and environmental sustainability commitment (ESC). Based on a sample of 160 fresh fruit farms and applying a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), our study concludes that EO and ESC influence EP and FP positively. Hence, farms can achieve competitive advantage through mitigating their profound impacts on the environment as proposed by the natural resource-based view (NRBV). Farms are also improving DCs, but farmers respond to the higher environmental requirements of agricultural markets primarily through research and development (R&D) capabilities and not through marketing capabilities. Having as theoretical supports the NRBV and the DCs, our study contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms through which entrepreneurs enhance EP and FP in sectors with high environmental impacts such as agriculture. The findings suggest that entrepreneurship training projects may enable farmers to approach food security as a market opportunity and not only as rules they must follow.     

Fiscal discipline and exchange rates: Does politics matter?

We look at the effect of exchange rate regimes on fiscal discipline, taking into account the effect of underlying political conditions. We present a model where strong politics (defined as policymakers facing longer political horizon and higher cohesion) are associated with better fiscal performance, but fixed exchange rates may revert this result and lead to less fiscal discipline. We confirm these hypotheses through regression analysis performed on a panel sample covering 79 countries from 1975 to 2012. Our empirical results also show that the positive effect of strong politics on fiscal discipline is not enough to counter the negative impact of being at/moving to fixed exchange rates. Our results are robust to a number of sensitivity checks, including the use of different estimators, alternative proxies for fiscal discipline and sub-sample analysis.     

CAPE VERDE: THE CASE FOR EUROISATION

After a decade of a successful peg to the euro, the authorities of Cape Verde are considering the official euroisation of the country. For an ex ante economic evaluation of such a move, this paper assesses whether Cape Verde fulfills key economic criteria devised by the optimum currency areas literature, using as benchmark the comparable records of the 27 European Union (EU) countries. The answer is positive. Overall, we find that Cape Verde is not less suited for euroisation than some of the current euro area members and most of the remaining members of the EU.     

Rural credit and agricultural supply in Brazil

The objective of this study is to determine the financing impact of total expenditure on the use of agriculture inputs (fertilizers, labor, and pesticides), and the output of cotton, rice, beans, corn, soybean, and wheat in Brazil. We study the period 1976–2005. The analysis is based on duality applied to the production theory. The output supplies and conditioned input demands are estimated from a translog multi‐output, multi‐input restricted profit function, where the total production credit is used as proxy of the total expenditure. Farmer expectations with respect to crop prices are incorporated to the estimation based on the quasi‐rational expectation model. The output and input responses to the total expenditure are positive and statistically significant except for cotton, wheat, fertilizer, and pesticides. The short‐run output supply response to own prices is inelastic, except for wheat, which presents elastic response to its price. Acreage has a positive impact on the output supply and it is influenced by land productivity. The main conclusion is that farmers face budget restrictions to purchase inputs, and a government credit program might increase the agricultural supply.     

Crowdsourcing Last Mile Delivery: Strategic Implications and Future Research Directions

The rise of e‐commerce over the past 20 years has created an increased need for responsive omnichannel distribution to meet the last mile challenge. Some companies are experimenting with the use of the sharing economy business model to augment distribution strategies. The use of so‐called “Crowdsourced Logistics” (CSL) is becoming more prevalent in practice, but the role in logistics strategy of this new phenomenon has not been thoroughly investigated and understood. Using a contingency theory lens, this research contributes a nascent understanding of how CSL performs in terms of logistics effectiveness by simulating same‐day delivery services from a distribution center to 1,000 customer locations throughout New York City under dynamic market conditions and by comparing the results to those of a traditional dedicated fleet of delivery drivers. The findings are analyzed to suggest how firms may find strategic benefit using CSL. An agenda for future research is provided to explore these strategic implications and to deepen knowledge about the CSL phenomenon.     

Measuring convergence of National Accounting Standards with International Financial Reporting Standards

This paper analyses three methods for measuring the success achieved in effecting convergence between any two sets of accounting standards. We begin by reviewing a measurement method based on the concept of Euclidean distances. We then propose two better measures (involving Jaccard's coefficients and Spearman's coefficients) to assess the progress of National Accounting Standards setting bodies in converging their standards with International Financial Reporting Standards [IFRS]. For illustrative purposes, we measure the convergence of National Accounting Standards in Portugal with International Accounting Standards [IAS] and IFRS over the period 1977–2003.     

Optimal Diversification: Reconciling Theory and Evidence

In this paper we show that the main empirical findings about firm diversification and performance are consistent with the maximization of shareholder value. In our model, diversification allows a firm to explore better productive opportunities while taking advantage of synergies. By explicitly linking the diversification strategies of the firm to differences in size and productivity, our model provides a natural laboratory to investigate several aspects of the relationship between diversification and performance. Specifically, we show that our model can rationalize the evidence on the diversification discount ( Lang and Stulz (1994) ) and the documented relation between diversification and productivity ( Schoar (2002) ).     

Corporate Social Responsibility and Resource-Based Perspectives

Firms engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) because they consider that some kind of competitive advantage accrues to them. We contend that resource-based perspectives (RBP) are useful to understand why firms engage in CSR activities and disclosure. From a resource-based perspective CSR is seen as providing internal or external benefits, or both. Investments in socially responsible activities may have internal benefits by helping a firm to develop new resources and capabilities which are related namely to know-how and corporate culture. In effect, investing in social responsibility activities and disclosure has important consequences on the creation or depletion of fundamental intangible resources, namely those associated with employees. The external benefits of CSR are related to its effect on corporate reputation. Corporate reputation can be understood as a fundamental intangible resource which can be created or depleted as a consequence of the decisions to engage or not in social responsibility activities and disclosure. Firms with good social responsibility reputation may improve relations with external actors. They may also attract better employees or increase current employees’ motivation, morale, commitment and loyalty to the firm. This article contributes to the understanding of why CSR may be seen as having strategic value for firms and how RBP can be used in such endeavour. Manuel Castelo Branco is Invited Lecturer of Accounting at the Faculty of Economics, University of Porto. He is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Economics and Management, University of Minho. His research has been published in journals such as the Social Responsibility Journal and Corporate Communications: An International Journal. Lúcia Lima Rodrigues, Ph.D is Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Management, University of Minho. She is the Head of the Department of Management and the Director of the Master in Accounting and Management. She is the Editor of the Portuguese Journal of Accounting and Management, Editor for Europe of the international journal Accounting History. She is referee in several Portuguese and International journals. Her research has been published in several major international journals in Accounting such as The Accounting Historians Journal, Accounting Education: An International Journal, Critical Perspectives on Accounting and Accounting Forum.