Turning values concrete: the role and ways of business selection in local currency schemes

Alternative consumption schemes require the selection of producers and traders according to criteria and through processes that should make alternative values concrete. The way values turn concrete is crucial for the effectiveness of such projects. This paper investigates the ways criteria and processes are defined and their real meanings and uses through the case of associative local currencies. Drawing on the framework of proximities, it analyses local currency schemes as combining proximities (geographical and non-geographical) and selection processes set up for providers wishing to join. Selection processes may be based on a charter, an approval committee and screening criteria. The objectives of the selection, its measures in principle, the way in which it is applied as well as the practical consequences are discussed. Even when charters and formal participatory schemes for selecting providers are established, proximities appear as the keystone of selection and trust.     

A STRUCTURAL RISK‐NEUTRAL MODEL FOR PRICING AND HEDGING POWER DERIVATIVES

We develop a structural risk‐neutral model for energy market modifying along several directions the approach introduced in Aïd et al. In particular, a scarcity function is introduced to allow important deviations of the spot price from the marginal fuel price, producing price spikes. We focus on pricing and hedging electricity derivatives. The hedging instruments are forward contracts on fuels and electricity. The presence of production capacities and electricity demand makes such a market incomplete. We follow a local risk minimization approach to price and hedge energy derivatives. Despite the richness of information included in the spot model, we obtain closed‐form formulae for futures prices and semiexplicit formulae for spread options and European options on electricity forward contracts. An analysis of the electricity price risk premium is provided showing the contribution of demand and capacity to the futures prices. We show that when far from delivery, electricity futures behave like a basket of futures on fuels.     

Local banking and local economic growth in Italy: some panel evidence

This article provides new evidence on the contribution of local banking to local economic growth (i.e. at county level – the Italian ‘province’) in Italy. A comprehensive data set is used, which includes control variables for social capital and human capital as well as indicators of the quality of local infrastructures and the production structure of the local economy. A linear within-estimator technique with fixed effects is applied to a modified version of the so-called Barro regression in order to address the well-known econometric issues of reverse causality and estimation bias resulting from unobserved district-specific influences.     

Firm location,political geography and environmental information disclosure

As the subjective and objective factors that influence corporate behaviours, political region and firm location are of great importance to environmental information disclosure (EID). With spatial and political geography as a research perspective, this article makes a study by using the samples of manufacturing listed companies from 2009 to 2011. As a result, we determine that regulatory distance and political geography had negative effects on EID, while political geography weakens regulatory distance’s function. After considering an enterprise’s administrative rank, we determined that when the rank is higher, regulatory distance has negative effects on EID; when the rank is lower, the effects are the opposite. Regarding political geography, it always weakened the regulatory distance’s function. Moreover, the effects are significant only when the enterprises had low governmental regulation. The study shows the effects that firm location and political geography have made on EID. At the same time, this study also gives theoretical and empirical evidence to the necessity of raising governmental regulatory effectiveness.     

Leisure in Living Local through Food and Farming

This article reflects on aligning leisure research with the local foods movement while placing the local foods movement into the larger framework of sustainability and the fields of leisure and recreation. The local foods movement has persisted during difficult economic times; growth in local foods venues and young people endeavoring to establish small-scale sustainable farms continues to flourish. Given the history of leisure research and its continued success alleviating participation barriers and constraints, the need for leisure researchers to focus on local food systems is imperative and timely. This essay highlights the notion of leisure in living through local foods and the serious leisure aspects of small-scale sustainable agriculture. This article also encourages leisure researchers to explore and assess the relationships between the local foods movement and small-scale farming as embedded in the larger framework of sustainability.     

农村宅基地使用权申请审批问题研究——基于地方立法文本的分析

地方立法中的申请审批条款在一定程度上决定着我国农村宅基地申请审批的实际状况。通过对地方立法文本中关于申请审批的立法模式和内容构成的统计分析，发现我国目前宅基地申请人的资格不一，审批中农村集体经济组织主体位置虚缺，而且宅基地立法层级很低，立法清理工作不及时。我国今后应明确农村集体经济组织成员的内涵，强化宅基地所有权人在审批中的作用，制定统一的《农村宅基地使用权法》。     

基于应用层通道的局域网出口流量控制策略设计

广域网流量需求的急剧扩张和局域网运营方出口带宽的矛盾迫使流量控制节点被部署到局域网关键链路当中。分析了网络用户的流量需求。从局域网运营方的角度出发,阐述了基于应用层通道的流量控制的原理、原则和目标。设计了流量控制的四类通道和两种策略的方案。     

New product development in foreign customer relationships: a study of international SMEs

Abstract

This study identifies a gap in research concerning how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from pursuing locally (rather than globally) oriented internationalization strategies. Becoming overly dependent on one single foreign market could potentially reduce the inflow and diversity of new knowledge that can serve as input for new product development. This study discusses how this risk can be minimized. In this endeavour we create a theoretical model that investigates how the local sales concentration and relationship-specific commitment of SMEs relates to new product development. To do this we draw on the behavioural internationalization process framework. The theoretical model is tested on an effective sample of 188 Swedish SMEs. The results show that relationship-specific commitment mediates the effect of local sales concentration on new product development. The implication is that investments which enable collaboration in important business relationships are crucial requisites for keeping firms innovative and in pace with market fluctuations. The findings thus contribute to international business literature by showing that a local market scope of operations combined with a relationship orientation are beneficial for new product development in international SMEs.     

The usefulness of performance reporting in local government: comparing Italy and Spain

This article presents a comparative analysis of the perceived usefulness of performance information by managers in local authorities in Italy and Spain. Italy and Spain have similar cultural and administrative characteristics and in both countries there are external requirements (from central government) to adopt performance indicators. The adoption of performance indicators was found to be almost symbolic in both states.     

Defensive Strategies of Local Companies Against Foreign Multinationals: Evidence from Chilean Retailers

ABSTRACT

Many retailers have been expanding into foreign markets, although not all such attempts at internationalization have been successful. This study examines the actions taken by Chilean retailers that negatively affected the operations of Home Depot, Carrefour and J.C. Penney in Chile. The results show that the strategies employed by local companies have consisted in: (1) becoming informed about the company's strengths and weaknesses, while imitating its best practices; (2) deepening their own market know-how and hiring high-level executives to lead defensive strategies; (3) opening stores in strategic places in order to win advantages concerning location; and (4) investing in technology and the training of employees. The overall effect on the market has been one of concentration and consolidation of the retail industry.

RESUMEN. Muchos retailers se están expandiendo a mercados extranjeros, sin embargo no todos los intentos de internacionalización son exitosos. Este estudio examina las acciones desarrolladas por retailers chilenos que afectaron negativamente la operación en Chile de Home Depot, Carrefour, y J.C. Penney. Los resultados de esta investigación muestran que las estratégicas empleadas por las empresas locales consistieron en (1) informarse en forma anticipada las fortalezas y debilidades de la empresa extranjera e imitando sus mejores prácticas, (2) fortaleciendo su conocimiento del mercado y contratando ejecutivos fuertes para liderar la estrategia defensiva, (3) apertura de locales en ubicaciones estratégicas para bloquear ventajas de localización, y (4) inversión en tecnología y capitación a los empleados. Los efectos sobre el mercado total fue de mayor concentración y consolidación de la industria.

RESUMO. Muitos varejistas têm expandido seus negócios para mercados estrangeiros, embora nem todas estas tentativas de internacionalização tenham sido bem sucedidas. Este estudo examina as aç[otilde]es implementadas por varejistas chilenos, as quais afetaram negativamente as operaç[otilde]es da Home Depot, Carrefour e J.C. Penney no Chile. Os resultados mostram que as estratégias empregadas pelas companhias locais consistiram em: (1) informar-se sobre os pontos fortes e fracos da companhia, ao mesmo tempo em que replicavam suas melhores práticas; (2) aprofundar o conhecimento a respeito de seu próprio mercado e contratar executivos de alto nível para liderar estratégias defensivas; (3) promover a abertura de lojas em locais estratégicos com o objetivo de conquistar vantagens relativas à localização; e (4) investir em tecnologia e no treinamento de funcionários. O efeito global desses movimentos no mercado tem sido o de promover a concentração e a consolidação da indústria varejista.