Research Methods in Taxation Ethics: Developing the Defining Issues Test (DIT) for a Tax-Specific Scenario

This paper reports on the development of a research instrument designed to explore ethical reasoning in a tax context. This research instrument is a version of the Defining Issues Test (DIT) originally developed by Rest [1979a, Development in Judging Moral Issues (University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN); 1979b, Defining Issues Test (University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN)], but adapted to focus specifically on the environment encountered by tax practitioners. The paper explores reasons for developing a context- (and profession-) specific test, and details the manner in which this was undertaken. The study on which it is based aims to compare the reasoning of tax practitioners in the tax-specific context and in the general social context covered by the original DIT, and to compare this with the reasoning of non-specialists in these two contexts. The paper therefore also considers the issues that arise when using such tests to compare reasoning in different domains or to compare groups. The focus on instrument development to measure ethical reasoning in a specific domain will contribute to the literature on research methods in the area of the DIT and will facilitate cross-study comparisons.     

广东省对外贸易与经济增长关系的实证分析

文章采用现代计量经济学的分析方法--协整分析和格兰杰因果关系检验,对广东省改革开放以来对外贸易与经济增长的相互关系进行实证分析,结论表明:广东省对外贸易与经济增长之间存在着相互促进的关系,其中,广东省GDP增长对进、出口增加的促进作用大于进、出口增加对GDP增长的促进作用.     

PROPERTIES OF OPTION PRICES IN MODELS WITH JUMPS

We study convexity and monotonicity properties of option prices in a model with jumps using the fact that these prices satisfy certain parabolic integro–differential equations. Conditions are provided under which preservation of convexity holds, i.e., under which the value, calculated under a chosen martingale measure, of an option with a convex contract function is convex as a function of the underlying stock price. The preservation of convexity is then used to derive monotonicity properties of the option value with respect to the different parameters of the model, such as the volatility, the jump size, and the jump intensity.     

浅谈粮食检测原始记录的准确性是粮食检验报告质量的重要保证

粮食质量检验报告是粮食质量检验机构的特殊“产品”,体现着质量检验机构的科学性、公正性和权威性,是质量检验机构向有关行政执法部门提供行政执法的依据之一,也是粮食质量检验机构向有关部门和社会反映质量信息的重要技术资料。而粮食检验原始记录是出据检验报告的依据,是粮食检验机构的重要基础资料,是其人员素质,工作质量的表征,因此提高检验原始记录的质量是保证检验报告质量的重要保证。     

Operations in banking: the service quality and effects on satisfaction and loyalty

This paper studies the service quality provided by the banks. The objectives are (i) to identify which aspects of the transactions carried out by the banks are important for the service quality perceived by the customers, taking into account some aspects that are sometimes ignored (online channels) and (ii) to observe how service quality influences customer satisfaction and how customer satisfaction affects the loyalty towards the bank. Using a factor analysis, the research identifies the operative, physical, new technologies and human factors. Next, using structural equations models with AMOS, the results show an influence of the operative aspects and the new technologies on service quality, as well as the confirmation of quality as a precedent to customer satisfaction, and how such satisfaction influences on customer's loyalty towards the bank.     

陕西省城市化与城市资源压力的协整检验与因果分析

本文从人口、经济、社会、地域景观四个方面,构建陕西省城市化水平综合评价指标体系,时陕西省城市化水平进行综合测度;同时,构建资源压力指数对陕西省城市资源压力进行定量评价,并对其关系进行了协整检验和格兰杰(Granger)因果检验.结果表明:①1990～2009年期间陕西省城市化综合水平持续提高;②城市资源压力指数与城市化...     

我国存在最优政府规模曲线吗

本文运用格兰杰方法对我国1978-2004年政府支出与经济增长的因果关系进行检验,结果表明:经济增长是我国政府规模的格兰杰原因,但政府规模不是经济增长的格兰杰原因。这一结论说明我国并不存在最优政府规模曲线,但验证了瓦格纳定律,同时也为我国现阶段的财政政策取向提供了有益的参照。     

How do Scores of DIT and MJT Differ? A Critical Assessment of the Use of Alternative Moral Development Scales in Studies of Business Ethics

The construct of Cognitive Moral Development (CMD) has drawn much attention in the study of business ethics for over two decades. The Defining Issues Test (DIT) has made a significant contribution to the literature as an easy-to-administer CMD instrument, and the Moral Judgment Test (MJT), an alternative scale, has also been used widely especially in Europe. The two scales differ in their approaches to measuring CMD, focusing on stage preference (DIT) and stage consistency (MJT), yet empirical comparisons have been scarce. The present research empirically compares the two scales in terms of their correspondence with ethical ideology as a reference scale, and it demonstrates a clear distinction between the DIT and the MJT. Although they both aim to measure CMD, their dissimilar approaches lead to distinctly different implications.     

Can good marketing carry a bad product? Evidence from the motion picture industry

We examine the relative roles of marketing actions and product quality in determining commercial success. Using the motion picture context, in which product quality is difficult for consumers to anticipate and information on product success is available for different points in time, we model the effects of studio actions and movie quality on a movie’s sales during different phases of its theatrical run. For a sample of 331 recent motion pictures, structural equation modeling demonstrates that studio actions primarily influence early box office results, whereas movie quality influences both short- and long-term theatrical outcomes. The core results are robust across moderating conditions. We identify two data segments with follow-up latent class regressions and explore the degree of studio actions needed to “save” movies of varying quality. We finally offer some implications for research and management.     

When do B2B brands influence the decision making of organizational buyers? An examination of the relationship between purchase risk and brand sensitivity

The dominant perspective on organizational buying behavior suggests that buyers tend to rely on objective criteria when making product choice decisions and that the potential influence of subjective cues, such as brands, on buyer decision making decreases with increasing risk. An alternative perspective, confirmed in this study by in-depth interviews with various managers, suggests that brands serve as a risk-reduction heuristic, whereby the influence of brands on decision making increases as a function of risk. Building on risk and information processing theories, this research builds on these complementary perspectives to propose that risk and brand sensitivity relate in a U-shaped manner, where brand sensitivity is highest in relatively low- or high-risk situations. The results of scenario- and survey-based field studies—involving 206 and 180 members of buying centers, respectively—suggest that both perspectives have merit and support the proposed nonlinear relationship. Moreover, the findings reveal that the risk-brand sensitivity relationship is moderated by competitive intensity, such that the linear (negative) and quadratic (positive) effects are stronger when competitive intensity is low.