Managerial,organizational, and external drivers of sales effectiveness in export market ventures

The authors extend sales management theory by considering the role of export sales management in small- and medium-sized firms, and they develop an integrated model of export sales organization effectiveness. Specifically, the authors test 16 hypotheses that examine the relationships among export sales management control, export territory, psychic distance, export sales performance, and export sales organization effectiveness. Using a mail-survey approach, data were collected from U.K.-based export sales managers in 146 direct exporters of industrial products. Though certain anomalies are observed, the research findings support many of the hypothesized associations, confirming the robustness of existing sales management concepts and theories in an export-marketing context.

TFP change,output gap and inflation in the Russian Federation (1994–2006)

The present paper estimates Total Factor Productivity (TFP) change for the Russian economy in the time period 1994–2006. It also calculates potential output and output gap using a Cobb-Douglas (CD) production function and a Hodrick–Prescott filter, as well as the Non-Accelerating Wage Rate of Unemployment (NAWRU), and the Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Capacity Utilization (NAICU) concepts. The results show that despite the severe economic crisis TFP has contributed to strong economic growth in the country after 1998, while the output gap, although negative between 1999 and 2003, has recently become positive. The relationship between output gap and inflation is examined and the results suggest that there is a strong (causal) relationship between output gap and inflation in the Russian economy.     

Rare events and annuity market participation

We investigate whether a rare event (like the default of the annuity provider) can explain the annuity market participation puzzle. High risk aversion is needed to change behavior in the presence of such a disastrous shock but higher risk aversion also makes annuities more valuable. Therefore, these rare events are unlikely candidates to explain the low take-up of voluntary annuities: the conclusion is robust to disentangling risk aversion from intertemporal substitution and to allowing portfolio investment in a stock market index.     

How management control and job-related characteristics influence the performance of export sales managers

Despite the plethora of studies examining the influence of behavior-based sales management control on salesperson characteristics and performance, limited empirical evidence exists with respect to its relevance and importance in an export sales context. This study expands the existing literature by investigating the influence of behavior-based control and job-related characteristics on the performance of export sales managers. The article offers a conceptual model and an empirical test using data from 210 UK exporters. The findings support the positive influence of behavior-based control on certain export sales managers' characteristics and behavioral performance. The results also indicate that: specific export sales managers' characteristics enhance behavioral performance; behavioral performance is positively related to outcome performance; psychic distance moderates the relationship between behavior-based control and behavioral performance. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for export executives and suggestions for future research in the field.     

Determinants of FDI and their Impact on Economic Growth in Uganda

Uganda, in an attempt to accelerate growth and development, has been encouraging foreign direct investment (FDI) through privatization programmes and generous incentive packages such as tax holidays and exemptions. However, the Ugandan experience shows that to attract FDI, macroeconomic and political stability and policy consistency are much more important than such incentive schemes. The paper discusses infrastructure and institutional bottlenecks that act as deterrents to FDI. The paper uses time series data to investigate the FDI‐growth linkage. The empirical results indicate that FDI has a positive impact on GDP growth in Uganda. L'Ouganda s'efforce d'accélérer la croissance et le développement en encourageant les IFD par le biais de programmes de privatisation et de généreuses mesures d'incitation, notamment des tréves et exonérations fiscales. Cependant, l'expérience ougandaise montre que pour attirer les IFD, la stabilité macroéconomique et politique et des orientations cohérentes sont bien plus importantes que de telles mesures. Le document examine les obstacles au niveau des infrastructures et des institutions qui limitent l'expansion des IFD. Il utilise les données de séries chronologiques pour déterminer les liens entre ces institutions et la croissance. Il ressort des résultats empiriques que les IFD ont un impact positif sur la croissance du PIB en Ouganda.     

An empirical investigation of the antecedents and performance outcomes of export innovativeness

The present study develops and empirically tests a conceptual model of the organizational, strategic, and environmental drivers of export innovativeness. The relationship between export innovativeness and export performance is also examined. Using data collected from 168 small- and medium-sized direct exporters, we find that decentralization in decision making, export market orientation, information exchange and export market dynamism have a significant influence on exporting firms’ degree of innovativeness. Furthermore, export innovativeness has a significant positive effect on export performance. Several theoretical and managerial implications are derived from these findings. Directions for future research are also provided.     

R&D, innovation, and technological progress: a test of the Schumpeterian framework without scale effects

Abstract.  I use U.S. manufacturing industry data to estimate a system of three equations implied by a model of R&D‐induced growth in steady state. These equations relate R&D intensity to patenting, patenting to technological progress, and technological progress to economic growth. In each case, I find evidence of positive impact. Thus, I reject the null hypothesis that growth is not induced by R&D in favour of the Schumpeterian endogenous growth framework without scale effects. I also find strong support for technological spillovers from aggregate research intensity to industry‐level innovation success. JEL Classification: O40, O30     

Private information in currency markets

Using daily abnormal currency returns for the universe of countries with flexible exchange rates, we show local currency depreciations ahead of unscheduled, public sovereign debt downgrade announcements. Consistent with the private information hypothesis, the effect is stronger in lower institutional quality countries and holds after we control for concurrent public information and for publicly available rumors about the forthcoming downgrades. Our results persist when abnormal currency returns are adjusted for global carry and dollar risk factors, world equity and bond returns, as well as local stock market returns. Finally, the currency depreciations are permanent, providing evidence for a link between fundamentals and currency markets.     

Estimating semi-parametric output distance functions with neural-based reduced form equations using LIML

Efficiency analysis is an important tool for evaluating firms' performance. This paper introduces a novel approach for measuring technical efficiency (TE) in the case of technologies with multiple outputs which deals with the endogeneity of outputs issue. The proposed approach uses Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and the method of Limited Information Maximum Likelihood (LIML). The validity of the proposed approach is illustrated by fitting it to a large US data set for all commercial banks in the 1989–2000 time span. Meanwhile, we compare the proposed approach to the single-equation Translog output distance function and the proposed approach was found to yield very satisfactory results, while dealing with the issue of the endogeneity of outputs.     

Emil Lederer and Joseph Schumpeter on Economic Growth,Technology and Business Cycles

This paper compares Joseph Schumpeter and Emil Lederer with respect to their visions concerning the notions of economic growth, technology and business cycles. Their theoretical investigations in a number of thematic areas seem to converge to similar views. More precisely, both Schumpeter and Lederer regard the capitalist economy as a dynamic system where the introduction of innovations is its distinctive characteristic. In such a system, static analysis based on the concept of equilibrium is useful as an expository device to describe the adjustment mechanisms of the economic system. They also paid attention to the emergence of large oligopolistic firms and considered this development as being interwoven with technological progress. Both economists used similar arguments to emphasize the link between economic development and technological change. In their analyses, Schumpeter and Lederer referred to psychological factors motivating the entrepreneur, in order to explain the forces that set in motion the process of innovation and thus economic development. The concept of technological unemployment is also described in a similar manner by both of them. Regarding the issue of business cycles, Schumpeter and Lederer considered them to be a result of endogenous processes within a capitalist economy. Lederer in his late works, argued in a way analogous to Schumpeter, that economic fluctuations are caused from the disruptions created by innovations, which are introduced discontinuously into the economic system. Conclusively, Schumpeter and Lederer delivered theses which are similar in scope and conclusions probably because they were developed in the same social, political, theoretical and ideological environment and were also well acquainted with each other’s ideas.