Religion,social capital and business bankruptcy in the United States, 1921–1932

We consider the value of social capital that derives from membership in a church. American states with larger churchgoing populations had lower business bankruptcy rates from 1921 to 1932, and states in which the churchgoing population was concentrated in few churches had business bankruptcy rates that were lower still. Both voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy were lower in states with higher church membership. The evidence suggests that church membership acted on bankruptcy through a safety net mechanism and not solely through indicating a preference for honouring commitment.     

Social capital,institutional innovation and Atlantic trade before 1800

The growth of the Atlantic economy during the eighteenth century has been associated with developments in business networking to mitigate the hazards of communication in long-distance trade. Such social capital-based mechanisms reduced transaction costs, but also proved to have their limitations in the changing conditions of eighteenth-century international trade. This paper argues, using the example of the British slave trade, that efforts to innovate less personalised forms of commercial exchange gave those prepared to do so a considerable competitive advantage, and promoted the unprecedented expansion of that trade between 1750 and 1807. We suggest that this shift may be viewed as a precursor of modernising tendencies in business practice in Britain during the industrial revolution.     

Nationalism,social capital and economic empowerment: SANLAM and the economic upliftment of the Afrikaner people, 1918–1960

At the beginning of the twentieth century the Cape-based Afrikaner elite used their social networks to establish an insurance company to address their business aspirations as well as wider economic empowerment needs of poor Afrikaners. This contribution explores the operating dynamics of social capital of an elite portion of society to benefit the wider Afrikaner community, thereby establishing new networks among Afrikaners. By the second half of the twentieth century the South African Life Assurance Company (Sanlam) developed from a local Cape-based enterprise to a strong diversified corporation extending social capital from the limited elite group to Afrikaners in the wider context of South Africa. The networks among Afrikaners were the key to the successful development of Sanlam and associated companies.     

Networks and business development: Convict businesspeople in Australia, 1817–24

This article uses social network analysis to examine accounting records in order to establish and analyse business relationships. It applies this methodology to accounting transactions recorded at Australia's first bank, the Bank of New South Wales (BNSW) in order to establish whether a business network existed among ex-convict businesspeople in Sydney during 1817–24. Uncertainty regarding distance from suppliers and credit facilities, lack of markets and business connections plus the social stigma of ‘convictism’ meant that it was difficult but not impossible for ex-convicts to establish businesses. The network among BNSW shareholders and depositors served the purpose of pooling of resources and information and alleviating uncertainty.     

eWOM across channels: comparing the impact of self-enhancement,positivity bias and vengeance on Facebook and Twitter

Abstract

When sharing personal details, versus talking about others, consumers tend to accentuate the positive experiences they have with brands in order to self-enhance amongst friends. Consumers also take vengeance on brands in public venues. Turning to social network sites (SNSs), it is unclear which is dominant. Here historical Facebook and Twitter eWOM (n = 47,907) is analyzed for a static group of 783 active US consumers. Self-enhancement is found on both SNSs. The majority of eWOM is positive Vengeance was rare, occurring only in 10.3% of all eWOM. eWOM appears to mirror a consumer's non-eWOM sentiment valence across SNSs. In this cross-platform comparison we suggest that SNS affordances alter eWOM creation Facebook has privacy expectations and limits direct brand interactions. Twitter is a public platform with less privacy expectations and a larger customer service component. Here eWOM is more prevalent on Twitter but contrary to our expectations is more positive.     

Corporate sustainability efforts and e-WOM intentions in social platforms

Abstract

The current study adopts service dominant logic to examine how consumers react to social platforms that communicate corporate sustainability efforts. The results suggest a positive connection between corporate sustainability efforts and evaluation of e-service quality as well as between corporate sustainability efforts and e-WOM. We also find that corporate sustainability efforts encourage consumers to spread positive e-WOM on a platform that provides useful information and that is well-designed. This study extends our understanding of corporate sustainability efforts by applying service dominant logic toward an explanation of consumer evaluation and e-WOM.     

公众力量在城市社区可持续更新中的作用

政府及开发商通过权力与资本结盟的方式来推动城市社区的更新,公众参与和合作的作用往往被完全忽视.田子坊城市社区更新的事例充分证明,在单纯公众主事的城市社区更新中需要一个多方参与的、开放的更新模式,这种公众力量参与其中的城市社区更新模式是一种可持续的模式,对于今后的城市社区更新具有广泛的启示意义和示范价值.     

论广告传播在资本转换中的作用

布迪厄提出资本有经济资本、文化资本、社会资本等不同形态,并认为不同形态的资本之间是存在着相互转换的。在现实世界的资本转换之中,广告传播产生了积极的推动作用,并且随着广告业的纵深发展,这种推动作用会表现得越来越明显。     

企业声誉与媒体权威性在证券市场传闻澄清中的作用——关于上市公司应对证券市场传闻的实证研究

发布澄清公告是上市公司应对市场传闻的主要途径。然而,在中国证券市场中,澄清公告却澄而不清,其原因在于某些因素会影响澄清公告的有效性。文章主要围绕信息内容（否认措辞）和信息来源（澄清企业的声誉与传闻媒体的权威性）两类影响因素进行探讨。研究发现,否认措辞将对澄清效果产生影响,并且两者的关系同时受到企业声誉和媒体权威性的调节作用,企业声誉越差,媒体权威性越高,否认措辞对澄清效果的影响越大。研究结论检验了心理学理论在证券市场中的有效性,拓展了金融市场领域的研究范畴,同时为上市公司应对市场传闻提供了新的思路。      

Embedding consumer culture in health and social care education – a university office's perspective

Health and social care services are changing – and this change is radical. Service user and carer involvement has been a key aspect of health and social care policy for a number of years. In terms of the National Health Service (NHS), this has been significantly strengthened by the report ‘High Quality Care for All’. The NHS will no longer be a monolith dictating what services it offers. It is beginning to take seriously the views of its consumers: the patients, service users and carers. The NHS is starting to put the patient experience at the centre of everything it does, and its regulators are asking for evidence of public and patient involvement. This process may yet prove to be one of the NHS' greatest challenges as it transforms to prioritize the consumer viewpoint. Social care, though further down the line in relation to involvement, is now responding to the relatively new personalization agenda. This paper will consider what the university sector can do to embed the consumer and service culture within the education of health and social care professionals. It looks at the challenges of involvement and required culture change, highlighting the key points to address in the early and middle stages of involvement from a university office's perspective. It includes examples of consumer involvement in teaching, assessment and the selection of students and how their input is starting to make a difference. Finally, the paper outlines what is needed in a development office to establish and support effective service user and carer involvement on health and social care courses in higher education. The article concludes by acknowledging that there is much more work that needs to be done in this field to embed the work of a development office, but that early steps have been promising.