Trends in stock-bond correlations

Previous studies document the existence of long-run trends in comovements in the stock and bond markets. Following these findings, this article examines possible trends in stock-bond return correlations. To this end, we introduce a trend component into a smooth transition regression (STR) model including the multiple transition variables of Aslanidis and Christiansen (2012). The results indicate the existence of significant decreasing trends in stock-bond correlations for many advanced safer countries. In addition, although stock market volatility continues to be an important factor in stock-bond correlations, the short rate and yield spread become only marginally significant once we introduce the trend component. Our out-of-sample analysis also demonstrates that the STR model, including the volatility index and time trend as the transition variables, dominates other models. Furthermore, we find a significant increase in stock-bond correlations for riskier euro countries around the beginning of the euro crisis. Our findings of decreasing and increasing trends in stock-bond correlations can be considered a consequence of the decreasing effects of diversification and more intensive flight-to-quality behaviour that have taken place in recent years and after the euro crisis.     

What type of cooperation with suppliers and customers leads to superior performance?

This research evaluates cooperation with key suppliers and customers, correlating cooperation to financial performance. Four cooperative behaviors represent cooperation as a multidimensional concept and the research explores the effect of each of these different dimensions of cooperation on performance. Results show that not all cooperative behaviors have similar and positive impacts on performance. Flexibility has no significant effect while shared problem solving has a negative effect. The other two cooperative behaviors, information exchange and restraint in the use of power, have positive impacts on performance. Results also indicate that cooperation with customers affects mostly firm growth while cooperation with suppliers affects firm profitability. Based on a survey of 124 packaging manufacturers, the analysis uses CFA (Confirmatory Factor Analysis) to validate the measurement of constructs and multiple regressions to analyze the relationships between the cooperative behaviors and financial performance.     

Demise of “permanent employment” in Japan

The increasing volatility of industrial business cycles is forcing Japanese companies to institute a variety of human resource management methods which are eroding the principle of permanent employment. The transition from permanent employment to more flexible employment practices reviewed here is an example of how human resources can be managed to maximize a firm's competitiveness and effectiveness.     

Comparing the Impact of the September 11th Terrorist Attacks on International Airline Demand

This article compares the impact of the September 11th terrorist attacks and its after‐effects on airline demand in the Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan and the US. Using a variety of time‐series data, we compare how changes in risk perception following the attacks impacted domestic and international demand. Moreover, we decompose the terrorist attacks’ effects into their transitory and ongoing components on airline demand.     

Entry Patterns in the Southwest Airlines Route System

We estimate a model of city-pair entry for Southwest Airlines using data from 1990 to 2000. In addition to quantifying the market characteristics which have influenced Southwests entry decisions, we find evidence that Southwests entry strategies have changed significantly throughout the decade. Based on our models estimates, we provide an estimate of the foregone fare savings resulting from the Wright and Shelby Amendments. Finally, we identify those markets that are the most likely for future non-stop entry and suggest which network carriers are most vulnerable to future Southwest expansion.