A family of Markovian models of recurrent choice

This paper presents a Markovian binary choice model for a heterogeneous population using a bivariate S_BB mixing distribution. Special forms of this model include Markov models with independent parameters, Last Place Loyal, Place Loyal and Bernoulli models. The modelling framework adopted allows these special forms to be both identified and tested. Analysis of recurrent shopping trips from travel diary data from Uppsala, Sweden [Burnett (1977)] finds no Markovian adaptive behaviour.     

Postconflict Monetary Reconstruction

During civil wars governments typically resort to inflationto raise revenue. A model of this phenomenon is presented, estimated,and applied to the choices and constraints faced during thepostconflict period. The results show that far from there beinga fiscal peace dividend, postconflict governments tend to faceeven more pressing needs after than during war. As a result,in the absence of postconflict aid, inflation increases sharply,frustrating a more general monetary recovery. Aid decisivelytransforms the path of monetary variables in the postconflictperiod, enabling the economy to regain peacetime characteristics.Postconflict aid thus achieves a monetary "reconstruction" analogousto its more evident role in infrastructure.     

Age and Work‐Related Health: Insights from the UK Labour Force Survey

Data from the UK Labour Force Survey (LFS) are used to examine two methodological issues in the analysis of the relationship between age and work‐related health. First, the LFS is unusual in that it asks work‐related health questions to those who are not currently employed. This facilitates a more representative analysis than that which is constrained to focus only on those currently in work. Second, information in the LFS facilitates a comparison of work‐related health problems that stem from current employment to a more encompassing measure that includes those related to a former job. We find that accounting for each of these sources of bias increases the age work‐related health risk gradient, and suggest that ignoring such effects will underestimate the work‐related health implications of current policies to extend working lives.     

Applying asset-based community development as a strategy for CSR: a Canadian perspective on a win–win for stakeholders and SMEs

In the December 2006 edition of Harvard Business Review , Michael Porter and Mark Kramer argue that by approaching corporate social responsibility (CSR) based on corporate priorities, strengths and abilities, firms can develop socially and fiscally responsible solutions to current CSR issues, which will provide operational and competitive advantages. We agree that an effective approach to CSR includes a mapping of strategy, risk and opportunity. However, we also caution that the identification of these to the exclusion of societal input may not be to the corporation's advantage. Instead, an investment in both strategic analysis and social capital can pay off from a social and an organizational standpoint. Compared with their larger counterparts, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) frequently have stronger relationships with their internal and external stakeholders that foster the development of social capital. As such, we believe that the sector offers a unique opportunity to identify additional models and frameworks in order to approach a strategic CSR model as espoused by Porter and Kramer. This paper explores a case study of one Canadian SME that uses a community development framework called Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) for its CSR programming. Because ABCD relies heavily on the development and maintenance of social capital and can be utilized to attain set objectives, we propose that it provides a supplementary framework through which the arguments of Porter and Kramer can be expanded. In applying the ABCD framework for CSR, we can begin to establish a programme that supports strategy, integrates employees and stakeholders towards a common vision, and creates unique and sustainable alternatives towards the resolution of social and corporate goals.     

The delisting of products by retail buyers

The main aim of the research reported here is to identify any patterns in the delisting behaviour of retail buyers, where a delisted product is defined as one which is removed from sale by a retailer but which continues to be sold by other retailers. The influence of the retail buyer in the marketing of consumer products has become ever more significant. Much academic research into retail buying has aimed at identifying criteria that affect purchasing decisions but few generalizable findings have emerged due to the context‐specific nature of such decision making. In this research a specific context is chosen, that of the de‐selection or delisting of products, a topic that has received little attention to date.

The results of interviews with 125 buyers, working for large and small retailers, on their reasons for 290 examples of product delistings are reported. The influence of more detailed contextual variables such as the buyer's age, experience and qualification, the product type, and the source of the product are examined together with a number of reasons for delisting the product. Many of these contextual variables, particularly the size of the retail business and whether the buyer had experience of working in a retail outlet, correlated widely with the relative importance of decision variables. Buyers working for smaller retailers tended to delist because of low sales volumes. Nett profitability, the reason why products should be delisted, was rarely cited as a major criterion.

More detailed analysis of the data set using factor and cluster analysis revealed that delisting decisions could be categorized into two types, each defined by combinations of contextual and decision variables. The most important variables in distinguishing between the two types of decisions were the buyer's age and experience as a buyer (contextual variables) and the decision criteria of nett margin being too low or the selling price to the retailer being too high. Younger, less experienced buyers were more likely to delist products because of low nett margins and high buying prices. Older, more experienced buyers were likely to delist for reasons other than these. The implications for retailers and for their suppliers of both the major and minor findings from the study are discussed.     

Profitability and Employment in United Kingdom Financial Services 1971–1981

The article examines changes in employment and profits in the UK financial services sector between 1971 and 1981. The conclusions are that, despite the severe recession, both indicators have risen — employment by just under 30 per cent, and profits by around 15 per cent. What is even more significant is that in every single region of Great Britain there has been an increase in service employment so that there are now more people employed in services in every region than in all other categories put together. This fact, it is felt, is not fully appreciated.     

Assessing the Efficacy of Structural Merger Remedies: Choosing Between Theories of Harm?

This paper shows that many structural remedies in a sample of European merger cases result in market structures which would probably not be cleared by the Competition Authority (CA) if they were the result of merger (rather than remedy). This is explained by the fact that the CA’s objective through remedy is to restore pre-merger competition, but markets are often highly concentrated even before merger. If so, the CA must often choose between clearing an ‘uncompetitive’ merger, or applying an unsatisfactory remedy. Here, the CA appears reluctant to intervene against coordinated effects, if doing so enhances a leader’s dominance.     

Investigating the Influence of a Joint Sponsorship of Rival Teams on Supporter Attitudes and Brand Preferences

The sponsorship of football is a multi‐million pound industry. Sponsors hope that supporters' enthusiasm for their team will translate into long‐term benefits for the sponsor. However, the intensity of team rivalry means that a sponsorship may also alienate opposing supporters. The rival Glasgow clubs, Celtic and Rangers, therefore undertook a joint sponsorship arrangement with the communications company NTL. This paper investigates how the benefits obtained compared to those that may have been expected from a single sponsorship. While the sponsorship was very effective in creating awareness for NTL, ambivalent attitudes were found towards the company. The most committed supporters were the least accepting of the sponsorship and the expected positive relationship between support for the club and brand preference for NTL was not found.     

Marketplace spirituality: challenges for the New Age retailer

The consumers of New Age spirituality products have been said to be involved in a form of ‘pick and mix’ religion or to be browsing in a ‘spiritual supermarket’ which emphasises borrowing from a wide variety of cultures. The paper details the different physical and virtual channels through which consumers may access goods and services. Retailers who serve this market are typically independent traders and face many of the challenges that are characteristic of the small business sector. The term ‘New Age' is identified as applying to a broad range of retailers who attempt to occupy different market positions. The research however identifies considerable product overlap between these retailers and suggests that the market displays limited differentiation. As this paper is an exploratory study, it finally sets out a series of research themes for future work.