Strategic Reorientation and Responses to the Asian Financial Crisis: The Case of the Manufacturing Industry in Singapore

Taking the Asian financial crisis as a base model that triggers decline among manufacturing firms in Singapore, this paper identified two main strategies taken: offensive strategic reorientation and defensive strategic shift. We hypothesized that firms that adopt the offensive strategic reorientation strategy attributed decline to controllable factors, have a higher level of slack, and are bigger in size. On the other hand, firms that adopt defensive strategic shift attributed decline to uncontrollable factors, are under greater severity of decline, have a lower level of slack and are smaller in size. We found significant relationships for the defensive strategic shift strategy.     

Endogenous Growth and Equilibrium Unemployment in a North–South Model

A North–South model is developed which incorporates an endogenous rate of equilibrium unemployment in the North in the context of long-run growth. It is shown how increases in the size of public debt and unemployment compensation financed by payroll taxation, all measured relative to productivity, raise the Northern natural rate of unemployment and, consequently, reduce the global rate of long-run growth. The effect of the shocks is also to drive down the rate of employment expansion in the South. A set of the fundamental determinants of the world terms of trade is obtained, which includes policy parameters.     

Can Corporate Social Responsibility Lead to Social License? A Sentiment and Emotion Analysis

The term social license (SL) refers to the acceptance or approval by a community of a company's presence. It is generally assumed in the literature that effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions will lead to an SL. In this study we examine the CSR-SL relationship at the local community level and establish boundary conditions on the effectiveness of local CSR in creating an SL. Using consent-based micro-social contract theory, we theorize that commitment to local CSR improves the level to which a local community grants an SL to a multinational corporation (MNC), but the impact is moderated by the global legitimacy of the parent company, the nature of institutions in the host country, and the degree of polarization within the focal community. Based on 3696 articles regarding 43 global mining MNCs operating in 523 local communities between 2008 and 2020, we use natural language processing and sentiment analysis to evaluate the degree to which a local community grants an SL. Our empirical evidence indicates that local CSR does positively influence the granting of an SL, but the effect is reduced when there is strong rule of law or high community polarization and increased when the focal firm has strong global legitimacy.     

Influences of perceived product innovation upon usage behavior for MMORPG: Product capability,technology capability,and user centered design

Recent advances in online game technology have set the pace for tremendous growth in the development of new entertainment applications. The authors study relationships among product capability, technology capability, perceived product innovation, user-centered design, attitude, and intention to play online games. They find that product capability, technology capability, and user-centered design influence perceived product innovation. Gamers want to interact with functional products designed with a deep understanding of customer needs. Moreover, user-centered design influences perceived product innovation, attitude toward playing, and behavioral intention to play. The study includes the user-centered design variable to reflect a unique characteristic of online games.     

Information control in the hold‐up problem

We study the use of information control to mitigate hold‐up risks. We identify a distinction between asymmetric information that creates an ex ante investment incentive and asymmetric information that causes ex post inefficiency, which then allows ex post inefficiency to be eliminated without compromising the ex ante investment incentive. We characterize the properties of the optimal information structure and the payoffs and welfare achievable with information control in the presence of hold‐up risks.     

Competitive Balance: Time Series Lessons from the English Premier League

Structural break points in the First Division/English Premier League time series of competitive balance identify an Early Period, a Pre‐World War II Period, a Post‐War Period, and a Modern Period. The Early Period corresponds to technology diffusion (defense and tactics) along with important economic structural imposition by leagues. The war periods are common to many time series. The Modern Period's sharp decline in balance corresponds to the newest version of the Champions League in 1994/1995 and the Bosman Ruling of 1995. Rottenberg's invariance principle suggests that it would be the former, rather than the latter, responsible for the historical rate of decline that follows this structural break.     

Seemingly Irrational but Predictable Price Formation in Seoul’s Housing Market

This paper tests the dynamics implied by a supplied-constrained view of the relationship between market fundamentals and house prices in the case of Seoul’s condominium market. The view is that supply constraints have led to serious shortages in certain submarkets, and that these shortages have led to a rapid rise in house prices and to panic buying or inflation-induced investing and to further price increases. The estimation period of the test is November 1988–February 2007. The results suggest that house prices in Seoul are highly persistent because of these supply constraints. Additionally, we do what we can with the available data to determine if house price increases serve to increase demand further, and if rent-price ratios and nominal interest rates are a good predictor of how housing prices in Seoul will evolve over time.     

Identifying Priority Areas for Forest Landscape Restoration to Protect Ridgelines and Hillsides: A Cost‐Benefit Analysis

This research presents a case study using cost‐benefit analysis to identify priority areas for forest landscape restoration to protect the ridgelines and hillsides in a single county of the southern Appalachian region, which may be applicable to other communities with similar issues. Private and public benefits per dollar spent are estimated for 15 target restoration sites. The results of this study show the potential for increased benefits to the community from reforestation projects, but those benefits can vary greatly depending on a number of factors, including the area of the target reforestation site, the number of houses surrounding the target site, property values, and the proximity of houses to the site. Much of the private benefit accrues to households living close to the reforestation site while public benefits are mainly generated by indirect use values associated with the cleansing of air and water pollutants. Assuming the explicit cost of reforestation is paid by local governments, the sites generating the most public benefit per dollar could be considered high‐priority reforestation sites based on equity. Alternatively, the sites with the highest private return per dollar could be viewed as high‐priority sites if the payment system allows direct payment for reforestation of private land. The latter payment system could be implemented through a conservation easement program that restricts the development rights of private landowners and permits private donations to support the program. Le présent article porte sur une étude de cas dans laquelle une analyse coûts‐avantages a été réalisée afin de déterminer des zones prioritaires de restauration de paysages forestiers destinées à protéger les lignes de crêtes et les coteaux dans un comté du sud des Appalaches. Cette étude de cas pourrait s’appliquer à d’autres communautés confrontées à des problèmes similaires. Nous avons estimé les avantages publics et privés par dollar dépensé de 15 sites de restauration cibles. Les résultats de notre étude montrent que les communautés pourraient tirer des avantages accrus des projets de reforestation, mais que ces avantages varient grandement en fonction de certains facteurs, tels que la zone où se trouve le site de reforestation cible, le nombre d’habitations entourant le site cible, la valeur des propriétés et la proximité des habitations par rapport au site. Une grande partie des avantages privés découlent du fait que les habitations se trouvent à proximité du site de reforestation, tandis que les avantages publics découlent principalement de la valeur d’usage indirecte liée à l’assainissement de l’air et de l’eau. Dans l’hypothèse où le coût explicite de la reforestation est assumé par les administrations municipales, les sites procurant le plus d’avantages publics par dollar dépensé pourraient être considérés comme des sites de reforestation hautement prioritaires en fonction de la valeur nette (equity). En revanche, les sites procurant le plus d’avantages privés par dollar dépensé pourraient être considérés comme des sites hautement prioritaires si le système de paiement permet le versement de paiements directs pour la reforestation des terres privées. Ce système de paiement pourrait être intégré dans un programme de servitudes de conservation qui restreint les droits d’aménagement des propriétaires fonciers privés et accueille les dons de particuliers en guise d’appui au programme.     

On the relationship between creativity and standardisation: evidence from a qualitative study on the introduction of standardised evaluation framework in recruitment

Creativity and standardisation are two interrelated, but contrasting constructs that are considered as indispensable for successful corporate management. While several scholars have tackled this issue with varying scopes, the literatures examining the impact of standardised framework on creativity in human resource development are scant. To further contribute to this discussion, this study aims to explore the effect of standardised competency evaluation on creative performance based on the qualitative interview data from various stakeholders. The results indicate that standardisation and creativity can be mutually reinforcing under specific conditions. It has been identified that a basic understanding of standardisation can create an adequate space for tolerance to cope with failure and build legitimacy, thus having a more informational rather than controlling effect on individuals’ creative performance. Individuals must be in control of the given standards to access the appropriate resources necessary for creativity to bloom.     

Influences of motivations and lifestyles on intentions to use smartphone applications

Mobile advertising, influenced by the current growth in smartphone applications, creates new opportunities for the advertising industry. This study identified motivations for the use of smartphone applications as well as lifestyle clusters of users and examined their influences on the relationships between perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude and intentions to use. This research used a face-to-face survey and empirical analyses to investigate key questions about how and why consumers use smartphone applications, illustrating the imperative roles that motivations and lifestyle clusters play in an important advertising context. This study represents a step toward clarifying how different lifestyle clusters influence different relationships between motivations, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude and intentions to use applications as advertising media, offering implications for advertising academics and practitioners.