The Scientometrics of Social Entrepreneurship and Its Establishment as an Academic Field

This paper provides an overview of the state of art of research on social entrepreneurship and the establishment of this topic in the academic world. It uses scientometric methods in measuring the maturity of social entrepreneurship research. The empirical part reveals the exponentially growing number of papers, the institutionalization of social entrepreneurship in seven dimensions, the emergence of thematic clusters, and methodological issues. The paper makes concrete suggestions on how to overcome methodological challenges. Furthermore, we provide a ranking of the 22 most cited academic contributions in social entrepreneurship. Surprisingly, almost half of the most cited papers have not been published in journals but in books, raising doubts about the current (over‐)rating of journal publications.     

Brand compass: charting a course to improve firm performance

This study contributes to the internal brand management domain from a firm asset perspective. We argue brand compass is an inside-out identity-focused firm asset consisting of brand vision, brand commitment and shared brand understanding. We build a theoretical argument for examining brand compass together with two important outward focused orientations: market orientation and innovation orientation. Through structural equation modelling, within the context of retailing, the findings chart a course to improve firm performance.     

UMBRELLA DAMAGES: TOWARD A COHERENT ANTITRUST POLICY

Price‐fixing cartels usually do not involve all members of an industry. To the extent that the nonconspiring industry members set their prices under the price umbrella of the cartel, the customers of the nonconspiring firms suffer overcharges just like customers of the conspiring firms. Whether these so‐called umbrella plaintiffs have standing to sue for antitrust damages is an unresolved policy question, because the Supreme Court has not spoken on “umbrella damages.” In this article, we identify the judicial concerns regarding umbrella damage claims, which can be traced to Mid‐West Paper and Petroleum Products Antitrust Litigation. These decisions raise concerns that the fact of injury is conjectural and the measurement of the damages is speculative. We first review the divided judicial treatment of standing for umbrella plaintiffs. Next, we describe the economics of umbrella pricing, which reveals that umbrella claims are not inherently conjectural. We then examine the econometric analysis necessary to estimate damages, demonstrating that umbrella damage estimates are not inherently speculative. We also examine some difficulties that exist in damage estimation generally and for umbrella plaintiffs in particular. Finally, we argue that granting standing to umbrella plaintiffs is consistent with the goals of antitrust policy. (JEL L1, L4, K2)     

Estimating the public economic consequences of introducing varenicline smoking cessation therapy in South Korea using a fiscal analytic framework

Background and aims: Smoking gives rise to many cross-sectorial public costs and benefits for government. Costs arise from increased healthcare spending and work-related social benefits, while smoking itself provides significant revenue for government from tobacco taxes. To better understand the public economic impact of smoking and smoking cessation therapies, this study developed a government perspective framework for assessing smoking-attributable morbidity and mortality and associated public costs. This framework includes changes in lifetime tax revenue and health costs, as well as changes in tobacco tax revenue, from fewer smokers.

Methods: A modified generational accounting framework was developed to assess relationships between smoking-attributable morbidity and mortality and public economic consequences of smoking, including lifetime tax revenue gains/losses, government social transfers, and health spending. Based on the current prevalence of smoking in South Korean males, a cohort model was developed for smokers, former-smokers, and never-smokers. The model simulated the lifetime discounted fiscal transfers for different age cohorts in 5 year age bands, and the return on investment (ROI) from smoking cessation therapy.

Results: Former smokers are estimated to generate higher lifetime earnings and direct tax revenues and lower lifetime healthcare costs due to the reduction of smoking-attributable mortality and morbidity compared to smokers, even after accounting for reduced tobacco taxes paid. Based on the costs of public investments in varenicline, this study estimated a ROI from 1.4–1.7, depending on treatment age, with higher ROI in younger cohorts, with an average ROI of 1.6 for those aged less than 65.

Conclusions: This analysis suggests that reductions in smoking can generate positive public economic benefits for government, even after accounting for lost tobacco tax revenues. The results described here are likely applicable to countries having similar underlying smoking prevalence, comparable taxation rates, and social benefit protection provided to individuals with smoking-related conditions.     

Zuhause sterben

Zusammenfasung  Was leistet Homecare? — Ein strukturierter Betreuungsansatz kann einen wesentlichen Beitrag leisten, das für den Patienten in seiner letzten Lebensphase Wichtige zu priorisieren. Das gilt sowohl für die medizinisch-pflegerische Versorgung als auch bei pers?nlichen Anliegen des Patienten.     

Rationing in IPOs

We provide a model of bookbuilding in IPOs, in which the issuer can choose to ration shares. Before informed investors submit their bids, they know that, in the aggregate, winning bidders will receive only a fraction of their demand. We demonstrate that this mitigates the winners curse, that is, the incentive of bidders to shade their bids. It leads to more aggressive bidding, to the extent that rationing can be revenue-enhancing. In a parametric example, we characterize bid and revenue functions, and the optimal degree of rationing. We show that, when investors information is diffuse, maximal rationing is optimal. Conversely, when their information is concentrated, the seller should not ration shares. We provide testable predictions on bid dispersion and the degree of rationing. Our model reconciles the documented anomaly that higher bidders in IPOs do not necessarily receive higher allocations.     

Competition and Cooperation in the Small Firm Sector

This paper examines the nature of economies of scale in the small firm sector and aims to provide new insight into the economic efficiency of small firm industrial districts. The theoretical analysis identifies the role played by collective external economies of scale that are realised through cooperation over input activities. Using game theory it is shown that cooperation can emerge both as a result of rational profit maximising behaviour and as a result of institutional and cultural environments that encourage cooperation and trust. The implications for industrial policy are discussed in the concluding section.