Motivations and perceived value of volunteer tourists from Hong Kong

This study examines the motivational factors and perceived value of Hong Kong volunteer tourists. The results of a focus group and in-depth interviews reveal five main motives for travelers to partake in volunteer trips: cultural immersion and interaction with the local people; desire to give back and show love and concern; a shared experience with family members and an educational opportunity for children; religious involvement; and escape from everyday life. The perceived value of these volunteer travelers includes personal growth and development, relationship enhancement, and change in perspective on life. The factors influencing their future decision to participate in volunteer tourism include time, financial ability, safety and health issues, arrangements and scale of the tour, and reputation of the organizer.     

Does the look matter? The impact of casino servicescape on gaming customer satisfaction,intention to revisit,and desire to stay

Despite huge investment made by casinos on their physical structures, little has been know if physical environment actually affects psychological responses of gaming customers. This paper explores how dimensions of servicescape influence customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the casino environment. Using Bitner's model of physical surroundings, we hypothesized how ambience, navigation, seating comfort, interior decor, and cleanliness affected cognitive and affective satisfaction of gaming customers. We further proposed that gaming customer satisfaction would affect their desire to stay and intention to revisit. Data from 513 gaming customers of Macau offered support to most of our hypotheses. Implications for research and managerial practices were also discussed.     

Revisiting the socioeconomic determinants of exclusive breastfeeding practices: evidence from Eastern Indonesia

This paper attempts to fill several important research gaps on the socioeconomic determinants of exclusive breastfeeding practices. In contrast to previous studies that have focused on the timely initiation and duration of breastfeeding, this article examines exclusive breastfeeding practices. Using data on 1138 children from the Indonesian Family Life Survey East 2012, we revisited to what extent mothers’ education levels and work in non-traditional sectors influence exclusive breastfeeding patterns. Furthermore, we investigated to what extent health-care demand and supply factors influence exclusive breastfeeding practices. Controlling for a wide range of individual, household, and community characteristics, our findings suggest that exclusive breastfeeding practices are affected positively by mothers’ education and negatively by mothers’ labour market participation in non-traditional employment contracts. Moreover, our results indicate that a higher availability and quality of health-care supply does not necessarily lead to better exclusive breastfeeding practices. Only when health-care supply was matched with a significant demand for such services, did we observe a higher chance for optimal exclusive breastfeeding.     

Weighted and quadratic models of choice under uncertainty

This paper extends the weighted and quadratic utility models of choice under risk to the context of choice under uncertainty. An important characteristic of the models is that they admit ‘dynamically consistent’ updating rules.     

Organizational Visibility,Stakeholder Environmental Pressure and Corporate Environmental Responsiveness in China

This article investigates the relationship between organizational visibility and corporate environmental responsiveness in China. It also examines whether this relationship is mediated by stakeholder pressure, and whether the strength of the relationships among organizational visibility, stakeholder pressures and corporate environmental responsiveness is moderated by the type of enterprise ownership. Based on the responses from a survey involving 131 enterprises, this study suggests a potentially positive and significant correlation between organizational visibility and corporate environmental responsiveness in China. However, the study reveals surprisingly that stakeholder pressure for environmental improvements does not seem to account for the above correlation. Organizational visibility is found to be negatively associated with stakeholder pressure in the case of Chinese‐owned enterprises, and stakeholder pressure has no significant associations with corporate environmental responsiveness. In addition, the moderating effect of enterprise ownership is strongly evidenced, which provides important policy implications for developing effective mechanisms to stimulate environmental management practices. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Reappraising the performance of China's state-owned industrial enterprises, 1980-96

This paper seeks to reappraise the performance of China's state-ownedindustrial enterprises over the period 1980-96. By examiningall the available indicators of performance, and by placingthat performance in the context of the country's specific pathof economic system reform and industrial growth, it argues thatthe state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have performed much betterthan is widely perceived in the literature. In particular, theperformance of large-scale, state-owned enterprises has beenat least comparable to that of the acclaimed collectively-ownedenterprises. The latter have been much more market-orientedthan SOEs, but their status has been equally unclear from thestandpoint of private ownership. The paper thus constitutesa challenge to the big-bang or shock-therapy approach to thetransformation of Soviet-type economic systems.     

Constructing stratifications for regions in China with sustainable development concerns

China??s economic boom has brought about environmental dark sides, i.e., serious air, water, and solid waste pollutions. As the largest developing countries in the world, China??s road toward economic-environmental balance is even complicated since there are various regions of diversified geographical and economic conditions. Using context-dependent-DEA (data envelopment analysis) as performance evaluating technique, this study constructs the regions?? benchmark-learning ladders for those inefficient regions to improve progressively; and to identify real benchmark for those efficient regions to rank ascendant by incorporating the stratification DEA method, attractiveness measure, and progress measure. Decision matrix covering attractiveness and progress scores is made to help the regions position themselves. Furthermore, we find that capital/employee ratio plays important role on forming levels of regions, which can be interpreted that advanced technology is one of key factors toward regional sustainable development.     

Regulation FD and analysts’ vs. investors’ weightings of the cash components of earnings

This paper investigates whether investors’ bias in processing the information contained in the cash components of annual earnings has been reduced, and whether the difference in bias between financial analysts and investors has decreased subsequent to Regulation Fair Disclosure (hereafter, Reg FD). We compare analysts’ and investors’ weightings of the three cash flow components of earnings, defined by Dechow, Richardson, and Sloan (2008), from 1985 to 2008, using historical weightings as benchmarks. Our results show that, in the post Reg FD period, the magnitude of investors’ (analysts’) mis-weightings has decreased (increased), and the differences between analysts’ and investors’ mis-weightings have become smaller. Overall, these results suggest that financial analysts’ information advantages over investors declined after Reg FD took effect, and that investors consequently are less biased in assessing the persistence of the cash flow components of earnings following the implementation of Reg FD.     

Quality as an autonomous body of knowledge. An in-depth survey on Italian higher education

The need of people skilled on quality topics is strongly increased in Italy, in the last 10 years, and new professional figures that are specialized in quality have been recently recognized by the Italian official classification of occupations. However, there seems to be a lack of empirical studies that analyse education about quality supplied by Italian universities and business schools. This paper shows the results of an exploratory survey on the education in quality offered by Italian universities. The research was conducted on a reasoned sample of Italian universities, selected on the basis of the number of students enrolled and the number of supplied degree courses, in the academic year 2005/2006. Thanks to the findings of the survey it is possible to know what (what subjects related to quality concepts and tools are taught), where (within which degree programs they are taught), and when (at which degree level they are taught) Italian higher education is devoted to quality.     

Einsatz von Biomethan in Neubauten nach EEW?rmeG – Eine Hemmnis- und Wirtschaftlichkeitsanalyse

The German Federal Government aims at increasing the use of biomethane to 6 billion cubic meters per year by 2020. The German Act on the Promotion of Renewable Energies in the Heat Sector (Renewable Heat Act ?C EEW?rmeG) of 2009 has paved the way for renewable energies in the heating market with 14?% in 2020 being the ultimate goal. Biomethane is one of the options provided in the EEW?rmeG. Building owners can choose between different renewable energy sources as well as a range of compensatory measures such as district heating, insulation or combined heat and power. However, they do not make this decision independently but together with other members of a buying center that comprises architects, specialist consultants and installers. These other members are pursuing their own interests, which includes maximizing their contract volume. Moreover the owner takes his decision under incomplete information. Both factors are detrimental to an optimal decision. Biomethane is chosen for only 3?% of newly constructed buildings. For a better understanding of why the use of biomethane for heating purposes is so limited, the authors have developed an economic calculation method that compares different renewable energy sources as well as compensatory measures. For a single-family home, biomethane is the least attractive option from a financial perspective; for a multi-family house, on the other hand, it ranks third. In order to promote the utilization of biomethane and to achieve the 6 billion cubic meter/year goal by 2020, the Federal Government needs to open up the options for biomethane beyond the now mandatory cogeneration solution. Moreover, the EEW?rmeG, which applies to newly built houses only, should be expanded to existing buildings.