The importance of consumer characteristics and market structure variables in driving multiple store patronage

The purpose of this study is to investigate multiple store patronage. Specifically, the aim is to relate the number of stores patronized to a set of consumer characteristics and market structure factors, according to a cost–benefit approach. Data from a sample of 1000 shoppers indicate that only few consumer characteristics impact on multi-store patronage pattern for grocery purchases (gender and shopping activity perception). Moreover, the number of stores operating in the market proved to be an important determinant of patronage set size. Implications for retailers are discussed with suggestions for future research.     

On relative and partial risk attitudes: theory and implications

This paper develops context-free interpretations for the relative and partial Nth degree risk attitude measures and show that various conditions on theses measures are utility characterizations of the effects of scaling general stochastic changes in different settings. It is then shown that these characterizations can be applied to generalize comparative statics results in a number of important problems, including precautionary savings, optimal portfolio choice, and competitive firms under price uncertainty.     

Credibility of Rules and Economic Growth: Evidence from a Worldwide Survey of the Private Sector

A business environment characterized by "incredible" rules suchas unclear property rights, constant policy surprises and reversals,uncertain contract enforcement, and high corruption most likelytranslates into lower investment and growth. The literatureon growth and policies has suggested different ways to measurethe relevant uncertainties. This article proposes a new measurementapproach based on firm-level surveys and an indicator of the"credibility of rules." Using data from a private sector surveyconducted in 73 countries and covering more than 3,800 enterprises,standard cross-country growth and investment analysis indicatesthat low credibility of rules is associated with lower ratesof investment and growth. The survey was designed to capturelocal entrepreneurs' views of the predictability of changesin laws and policies, of the reliability of law enforcement,of the impact of discretionary and corrupt bureaucracies, andof the danger of policy reversals due to changes in governments.Confidence in the reliability of the survey results opens manyavenues for further research that could exploit the micro dimensionsof this data set.     

How does firm diversification impact innovation?

This study sheds light on the relationship between business diversification and innovation. A diversification strategy is both a driver of sunk costs and strategic slack. Strategic slack is a valuable reserve of knowledge, usable to foster innovation. Using linear models, we explore the interplay between research and development (R&D) and organisational slack in large and diversified companies listed on the Euronext 100 Index. We consider the diversification pattern over time, and its interactions with the following three categories: sunk costs, slack resources, and R&D. The results show an antithetic effect of diversification and slack on R&D expenditures. In contrast to unabsorbed and potential slack, diversification and sunk costs hinder innovation. However, diversification is a huge source of strategic slack and, thus, has a positive effect on innovation, indirectly.     

Power and responsibility: How different sources of CEO power affect firms' corporate social responsibility practices

Does greater CEO power come with more responsibility? Previous scholarly work in this field entails divergent results on this question. Based on the upper echelons theory and CEO power literature, this study aimed to explore the mechanisms underlying how different sources of CEO power, including structural, ownership, expert, and prestige power, affect firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and whether such relationships are moderated by firm visibility. Using a panel dataset comprising 6604 yearly observations of Chinese publicly traded firms from 2009 to 2019, we found that structural power is negatively related to CSR practices and that expert power is positively related to CSR practices, whereas ownership power and prestige power have no direct relationship with CSR practices. Our results show that firm visibility weakens the negative relationship between structural power and CSR practices and strengthens the relationship between expert power and CSR practices, respectively. Overall, this study reconciles the mixed results of previous studies on the impact of CEO power on CSR and integrates the effect of firm visibility as a contextual factor. This article concludes with practical recommendations on how to manage CSR engagement.     

‘There will be no law,or people to protect us’: Irregular Southeast Asian seasonal workers in Taiwan before and during the pandemic

This paper investigates the everyday lived realities of Southeast Asian migrant workers who left the formal sector of the labour market and entered the informal agricultural sector before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. Drawing on observations of migrants' daily lives and farm work and 19 in-depth interviews, it delves into migrants' subjective experiences of vulnerability, paternalism, exploitation, and control at work due to a lack of legal protection and the illegality of their employment. Although the literature has identified a link between ‘running away’ from formal employment and seeking freedom, this research suggests a continuum between experiences of work in the formal and informal economic sectors. The paper sheds new light on mobility, work, illegality, and informality and how these have constantly shaped ‘runaway’ workers' subjective experiences of freedom and unfreedom during the pandemic.     

Effect of board gender diversity on the financial performance of microfinance institutions: Does judicial efficiency matter?

The impact of board gender diversity on the financial performance of firms is not known. This is because empirical investigations have yielded inconclusive outcomes. This study engages data from 408 microfinance institutions (MFIs) covering the period 2010–2018 from the six microfinance regions to investigate this impact using the Least Squares Dummy Variable (LSDV) and the System Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM) estimation techniques. The study also explores whether judicial efficiency exerts any significant effect on the board gender diversity–financial performance nexus. The study observes that board gender diversity exhibits a strong negative effect on the financial performance of MFIs. The study also observes that the effect of board gender diversity on the financial performance of MFIs escalates in the presence of judicial inefficiency. The study, therefore, unveils the judicial system as a channel through which gender diversity drives the financial performance of MFIs negatively.     

Compromising as an equal loss principle

Review of Economic Design - A social choice rule aggregates the preferences of a group of individuals over a set of alternatives into a collective choice. The literature admits several social...