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.     

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.     

Les Caisses Rurales Face à l'Union Monétaire: Une étude d'efficacité comparée

The authors analyze the economic efficiency of rural credit unions of large size compared to a group of credit unions. The methodology is based on the analysis of profitability, productivity and efficiency ratios and on the estimation of a Cobb–Douglas cost function. The evolution during the period 1989–1994 as well as the situation at the end of this period are examined. The same methodology is used to study the rural credit unions individually.     

Appointing Women to Boards: Is There a Cultural Bias?

Companies that are serious about corporate governance and business ethics are turning their attention to gender diversity at the most senior levels of business (Institute of Business Ethics, Business Ethics Briefing 21:1, 2011). Board gender diversity has been the subject of several studies carried out by international organizations such as Catalyst (Increasing gender diversity on boards: Current index of formal approaches, 2012), the World Economic Forum (Hausmann et al., The global gender gap report, 2010), and the European Board Diversity Analysis (Is it getting easier to find women on European boards? 2010). They all lead to reports confirming the overall relatively low proportion of women on boards and the slow pace at which more women are being appointed. Furthermore, the proportion of women on corporate boards varies much across countries. Based on institutional theory, this study hypothesizes and tests whether this variation can be attributed to differences in cultural settings across countries. Our analysis of the representation of women on boards for 32 countries during 2010 reveals that two cultural characteristics are indeed associated with the observed differences. We use the cultural dimensions proposed by Hofstede (Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values, 1980) to measure this construct. Results show that countries which have the greatest tolerance for inequalities in the distribution of power and those that tend to value the role of men generally exhibit lower representations of women on boards.     

Getting fourteen for the price of one! Understanding the factors that influence land value and how they affect biodiversity conservation in central Brazil

Biodiversity policies are suffering an implementation crisis; the roots are deeply entrenched in the unfair competition between the public and private interests for suitable versus available land. In this article we propose a value-based equivalence method for compensation for the 20% compulsory reserves in the Taquari River sub-catchments, as legally required for central savannas of Brazil. Using regression techniques we analyzed 106 land deals in the Pantanal's watershed and identified the most significant variables influencing land value. We argue that the commonly used area-for-area, compensation mechanism, where 1 ha of compulsory reserve is missing, requires another hectare protected in the same catchments, instead of counteract habitat loss, is in fact harmful to biodiversity, stimulating progressive habitat destruction. We identified the economic forces behind deforestation and habitat fragmentation in the central savannahs of Brazil and proposed a market-based approach to counteract these forces using tools already available in environmental economics. We suggest that a dollar-for-dollar reference to determine land equivalence and compensation can better counter-balance the incremental losses from habitat destruction, while providing objectivity and transparency for trading alternatives.     

Employee perceptions and their influence on training effectiveness

Studies of the benefits of human resource development (HRD) for organisations have assumed a direct connection between training strategy and a hierarchy of performance outcomes: learning, behavioural change and performance improvement. The influence of workplace practices and employees' experiences on training effectiveness has received little attention. This study investigates evaluation strategies designed to elicit greater training effectiveness, and explores the influence of trainees' perceptions and work environment factors on this. Drawing on detailed case study findings, the authors highlight the importance of management practices, trainees' perceptions of the work environment and systems of reward in explaining behaviour change after training.     

BRICS: How important is the exchange rate pass-through?

This paper analyses the exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) into domestic consumer prices in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries from mid-1990s onwards by using three different econometric approaches (i.e., the single equation approach, the VAR approach and the time-varying parameter approach). It is also studied the role of macroeconomic determinants in ERPT. Our results suggest that (a) ERPT is higher for the emerging markets with mostly floating exchange rates (Brazil, Russia and South Africa) than for the other BRICS countries; (b) exchange rate explains, on average, around the 40% of the price variance for Brazil, Russia and South Africa; and (c) inflation volatility, exchange rate volatility and openness seem to be the key macroeconomic determinants in BRICS countries.     

Implementing the Kyoto Accord in Canada: Abatement Costs and Policy Enforcement Mechanisms

The anticipated abatement costs to be incurred by Canada and six of its provinces from the implementation of the Kyoto agreement (reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions generated by fossil fuel burning by 6% from 1990 levels) are estimated using an emissions benefit function. Marginal abatement cost functions are estimated and used for the analysis of alternative policy enforcement mechanisms. The efficiency of a policy mechanism depends on the rule used to allocate the burden of the agreement among the provinces and on whether the provinces or the federal government implement the agreement at the provincial level. Under the rule of an equal emission reduction of 6% over 1990 levels in all provinces, Quebec bears no abatement costs while British Columbia and Saskatchewan incur the highest costs. An allocation rule based on the equimarginal principle achieves aggregate efficiency; it is, however, the rule that contains the risk of noncompliance by provinces that have already taken action toward emissions reduction. Les auteurs estiment ce qu‘il en coûtera au Canada et à six de ses provinces pour adopter les mesures antipollution qu'exigera la mise en ?uvre du protocole de Kyoto (réduction de 6 % des rejets de CO₂ attribuables aux combustibles fossiles par rapport aux chiffres de 1990) au moyen d'une fonction faisant intervenir avantages et émissions. Ils estiment les fonctions du coût marginal des mesures antipollution et se servent des résultats pour étudier d'autres mécanismes visant à faire respecter les politiques. L'efficacité du mécanisme d'exécution dépendra, d'une part, de la régle qui servira à répartir le fardeau de la mise en ?uvre entre les provinces et, d‘autre part, de l‘application de l'accord par le gouvernement fédéral ou provincial, au niveau des provinces. En supposant une réduction uniforme des rejets de 6 % par rapport aux relevés de 1990, dans toutes les provinces, l'exécution des mesures antipollution ne coûtera rien au Québec, tandis que la Colombie‐Britannique et la Saskatchewan accuseront les frais les plus élevés. Une régle de répartition reposant sur le principe de l'équimarginalité s'avérera efficace globalement, mais on courra le risque que les provinces qui ont déjà pris des mesures pour combattre la pollution refusent de s‘y plier.