Problem-solving effort and success in innovation contests: The role of national wealth and national culture

Innovation contests allow firms to harness specialized skills and services from globally dispersed participants for solutions to business problems. Such contests provide a rich setting for operations management (OM) scholars to explore problem solving in global labor markets as firms continue to unbundle their innovation value chains. In this study, we examine the implications of specific types of diversity in innovation contests on problem-solving effort and success. First, we conceptualize diversity among contestants in terms of national wealth (measured as gross domestic product per capita (GDPP) adjusted for purchasing power parity) and national culture (measured using the culture dimensions of performance orientation and uncertainty avoidance) and examine how such factors influence problem-solving effort. Next, we examine how differences between contestants and contest holders in terms of the above factors influence contest outcomes. Using data from a popular online innovation contest platform and country-level archival data, we find that contestants from countries with lower levels of GDPP are more likely to exert greater problem-solving effort compared to other contestants. With regard to national culture, we find that performance orientation and uncertainty avoidance have positive and negative effects, respectively, each of which weakens with increasing levels of GDPP. Finally, our analysis provides evidence of homophily effects indicating that contestants who share greater similarities with the contest holder in terms of national wealth and national culture are more likely to be successful in a contest. We discuss the implications of the study's findings for contest holders and platform owners who organize innovation contests, and for emerging research on innovation contests.     

Three books,two movements,one story

These three books take different approaches to analysing the transformative potential of the Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Brazil. Vergara‐Camus' book also examines the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). Carter solicited essays from numerous specialists and sees his book as contributing to existing efforts to overcome inequality. Mészáros emphasizes the influence of power relations on the law, determining that it takes an organized pressure group such as the MST to ensure that authorities implement policies that challenge the status quo. Vergara‐Camus' grassroots approach, which involved periods of living with peasant families, concludes that the MST's strategies for building alternative, autonomous rural communities is more realistic – more universalistic – than that of the Zapatistas, whose military tactics tend to reinforce the group's isolation in the forests of Mexico's southernmost state. The review evaluates these arguments, the authors and their evidence from the perspective of a researcher experienced with the objects studied.     

Overconfidence and optimism: The effect of national culture on capital structure

This study assesses whether variations in capital structure across countries can be explained by cultural traits. We analyze capital structure choices of firms in 42 countries and provide evidence that these decisions are affected by the degree of individualism of the country where the firm is located. We assert that managers in countries with high level of individualism exhibit strong optimism and overconfidence which cause an upward bias in perception of supportable debt ratios. Our results are robust to controlling for other firm- and country specific determinants of capital structure choices and to using alternative model specifications and estimation techniques.     

Shipping route choice across geographies: Coastal vs. landlocked countries

This paper investigates how geography and transportation costs influence the decisions by shippers of which port of export to use. Using a large sample of disaggregated shipments originating from several countries in Europe, we show that European logistics networks exhibit a low level of international integration that affects shipping route choice. Furthermore, we find significant differences in shipping behaviors across landlocked and coastal countries, with shippers in landlocked countries avoiding long land transportation, crossing borders readily, and placing more value on transportation infrastructure. These findings have implications in designing port competitiveness strategies and economic development policies in landlocked countries.     

Brand personality and culture: The role of cultural differences on the impact of brand personality perceptions on tourists' visit intentions

Tourism destinations increasingly use brand-personification strategies to evoke favorable consumer reactions. These reactions, however, may hinge on cultural differences. This paper investigates the relationships among nation brand personality perceptions, consumer brand-self congruity, and the visit intention of a country as a tourism destination. Brand-self congruity is examined as a mediator of the relationship between brand personality perception and visit intention. Of Hofstede's cultural dimensions, individualism and uncertainty avoidance are the most relevant dimensions for brand-self congruity. Based on representative samples of consumers from five countries (Italy, the UK, Czech Republic, Poland, and Russia) and using Slovakia as a sample tourism destination, the effect of individualism and uncertainty avoidance on the relationship between brand self-congruity and visit intention is studied. Individualism and uncertainty avoidance moderate the congruity – visit intention relationship – but in a negative way, contrary to our expectations. Important implications are derived for both tourism research and destination management.     

Warfare tourism experiences and national identity: The case of Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek,the Netherlands

This paper examines through an analysis of Dutch warfare tourism whether there is a relationship between the subjective perceived salience of Dutch identity and heritage tourists' motives, emotions and overall satisfaction. Using a social identity theory framework, this study provides a view of motives for Dutch warfare heritage tourism and the ways in which this specific variant of heritage tourism evokes different emotions and satisfaction evaluations in visitors. Specifically, we found that visitors who identified strongly as ‘being Dutch’ (the ‘in-group’) have stronger self-enhancement motives compared to those who identify less strongly, and that edutainment features strongly in the museum experience. Visitors seeking initiative/recognition express feelings of disappointment suggesting that the museum's symbolic function as a place of national in-group identity could be more highlighted. We demonstrate that an affirmative and engaged experience can manifest at nationally symbolic sites through positive historical narratives and entertainment, and through ‘in-group’ self-enhancement activities.     

The effect of physical environment on passenger delight and satisfaction: Moderating effect of national identity

This study aims to examine the influence of an international airport's physical environment on passengers' delight and satisfaction. This study also aims to assess the moderating role of national identity on the relationship between physical environment and passengers' delight and satisfaction. A convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample. A total of 271 questionnaires distributed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia were used for data analysis. The result from the structural analysis suggests that physical environment in an international airport influences passengers' delight and satisfaction. Moreover, national identity portrayed in airport moderates the relationships between physical environment, passengers' delight and satisfaction. Overall, findings of this study extends the understanding of physical environment, passengers' delight and satisfaction and national identity in the context of an international airport and offer implications for international airport authorities. Discussions and implications for airport practitioners, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also provided.     

关于当代大学生爱国主义的调查与思考

爱国主义是大学生德育教育的一个中要组成部分,也是现代教育不可或缺的一个重要内容,更是现代社会主义市场经济建设中引人奋发向上的动力,是中华民族复兴的源泉,是建设中国特色社会主义的必要条件,本文针对在校高职生进行了部分调查,旨在通过调查找到大学生在爱国教育上存在的一些问题,并提出一些相应的解决方法。     

全球价值链与国内价值链——基于投入产出表的新方法

价值链作为组织和协调经济活动的微观机制,已使经济全球化和增长模式发生了深刻的变化。本文利用来自投入产出表的新方法,测度了广东省和江苏省全球价值链和国内价值链的水平。结果表明,粤苏两省切入全球价值链的倾向高于切入国内价值链的倾向,而对其它省份关联效应较大的行业基本上是中间品行业,且具有自然资源密集的特征。全球价值链与国内价值链之间的互动关系,则关系到我国产业升级的前景和区域经济协调发展的基础。