External cooperation and entrepreneurial orientation in industrial clusters

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between external cooperation and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). This relationship is explored in cluster environment, wherein entrepreneurial organizations compete and cooperate simultaneously to pursue opportunities. The following hypothesis is tested: External cooperation is positively correlated with entrepreneurial orientation. The hypothesis is tested with a correlation analysis on a sample of 77 small-sized enterprises operating in the Malopolska region in Poland, wherein several clusters are active. Additionally, the regression analysis is conducted to examine the associations between inter-organizational cooperation and EO dimensions. The findings confirm that external cooperation is positively correlated with EO. This observation is confronted with a pro-competitive approach that is a constitutional element of the entrepreneurship concept. Moreover, the findings show that the correlation between external cooperation and a firm’s performance is stronger than between some other EO dimensions and performance. Additionally, the findings show the important role of relationships between organizations and their clients. In the paper, several remarks for development of the theory are discussed, including the need for incorporating inter-organizational cooperation into a set of entrepreneurial traits and reflecting it in entrepreneurial orientation scales. The findings confirm the importance of that direction of theory development that focuses on inter-organizational collaboration in the context of entrepreneurship.     

Income,distance and amenities. An empirical analysis

This paper analyses the income distribution of households in Barcelona metropolitan area. For this purpose we use the monocentric model. As the basic model does not have direct implications for this distribution, we survey the extensions of the model that have been used in empirical literature. One of the most promising ways is to introduce externalities in the decision process; they can result directly from exogenous amenities (given traits of urban area) or be created by other agents’ decisions. We first test the simple model relating income to distance. Then we introduce and test the model with exogenous amenities; recreational areas, transportation systems, health, educational and cultural infrastructure. In the third stage we test the model with spatial effects. We present evidence that any model with spatial effects improves significantly the empirical results.     

How should firms selectively hedge? Resolving the selective hedging puzzle

We provide a model of intertemporal hedging consistent with selective hedging, a widespread practice corroborated by recent empirical studies. We argue that the optimal hedge is a value hedge involving total current value of future earnings. More importantly, the hedging decision is independent of risk preferences of the firm or agent. Our closed-form solutions imply several implications for the risk management policy in a firm. In order to lock in profits a hedge increase is recommended in favorable states of nature, while in bad states the firm should decrease the hedge and wait. Our main new empirical implication is that selective hedging should be more prevalent in industries where managers are exposed to convex cash flow structures and are more likely to “value hedge” their exposures.     

Evaluating Natural Resource Investments under Different Model Dynamics: Managerial Insights

We focus on factors that drive the dynamics of commodity prices. We highlight the capital budgeting implications of three highly‐cited, nested, multi‐factor models for commodity prices that have been successful in empirical investigations. Competing assumptions regarding commodity prices and their convenience yields can account for differences close to 40% on average, and in excess of 60% in cases, in the valuation of typical natural resource investments. These value differences are found to increase with the maturity and the intrinsic value of the investment, and also with the level and the volatility of the resource's convenience yield. Resources such as oil or copper, that are used for production purposes, usually exhibit high and volatile convenience yields; thus our findings should be more relevant for decision‐makers in such sectors.     

Effect of electromagnetic field accompanying the magnetic resonance imaging on human heart rate variability – a pilot study

The effect of electromagnetic field on cardiovascular system in the literature is defined in ambiguous way. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of electromagnetic field on the heart rate variability (HRV) during the examination with magnetic resonance. Forty-two patients underwent Holter ECG heart monitoring for 30 minutes twice: immediately before and after the examination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). HRV was analysed by assessing a few selected time and spectral parameters. Is has been shown that standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN) and very low frequency rates increased, whereas the low frequency:high frequency parameter significantly decreased following the MRI examination. These results show that MRI may affect the HRV most likely by changing the sympathetic-parasympathetic balance.     

The evolution of the Polish central bank’s views on Eurozone membership

This article analyses the reports published by the National Bank of Poland (NBP – Narodowy Bank Polski) between 2004 and 2014. These reports shed light on the evolution of official thinking on the possibility of Polish participation in the Eurozone, revealing a decline in enthusiasm over time. This change has taken place against a backdrop of a shift in general public attitudes (in Poland) towards the European Union, and a more specific shift in public opinion on the desirability of monetary integration on the supranational level caused by the economic crisis. These two factors explain the shift in conclusions and arguments contained in the official reports of the National Bank of Poland.     

On bootstrapping periodic random arrays with increasing period

The aim of the paper is to determine when the periodic block bootstrap, procedure introduced by Chan et al. (Technometrics 46(2):215–224, 2004), can be applied to arrays of random variables. Formal consistency is obtained under α-mixing or m-dependence conditions together with the assumption that the length of the period tends to infinity. On the other hand, if the period is constant, inconsistency is shown. The performance of periodic block bootstrap is also compared in simulations with moving block bootstrap. It is suggested that for the case of long-period data the first method is more effective and much more stable with respect to the length of the block size.     

An explanatory analysis of perceived risk decision weights (perceived-risk attitudes) and perceived benefit decision weights (perceived-benefit attitudes) in risk-value models

Abstract

All decision making requires a trade-off between risks and values. While Markowitz defined risk as the variance of returns (thus reasoning that investors should consider it as undesirable), the more general risk–value framework allows risk to be defined as a person’s subjective judgments. Psychological risk–return models go further, decomposing observed behavior (risk taking) into two processes: (1) a judgment of benefits and risks and (2) a trade-off between perceived benefits and perceived risks, with a person-specific willingness to trade-off units of returns (benefits) for units of risk, conceptualized as attitude toward perceived risk (PRA) and attitude toward perceived benefits (PBA). PRA and PBA describe the degree to which people find perceived risks and benefits attractive, all other things being equal, and are assumed to be relatively stable across situations and domains. We test this assumption in an empirical study, checking the temporal stability of PRA and PBA (using the a Domain-Specific Risk-Taking [DOSPERT] scale ) and the cross-task stability of PBA (performing comparisons between the DOSPERT and the Columbia Card Task[CCT]). Finally, we explain both PRA and PBA using the Big Five personality dimensions and Stimulating–Instrumental Risk Inventory (SIRI), showing that PBA weights increase with openness to experience, while the negative effect of perceived risk on risk taking (PRA) increases with conscientiousness and decreases with stimulating risk taking. The results show that PBA and PRA can be treated as traits which, in some instances at least, are stable across time and tasks, and which can be partially explained by personality, providing a link to the idea of a personality dependent ‘ideal point’ for risk preference.     

Participating mortgages and the efficiency of financial intermediation

This paper establishes a basic framework to study three different variants of Participating Mortgages (PMs). We obtain results for Shared Appreciation Mortgages (SAMs), Shared Income Mortgages (SIMs) and Shared Equity Mortgages (SEMs) in closed-form. We illustrate our findings with examples that show PMs are also attractive in an environment where prepayment can occur. Finally we conclude with the public policy implications of employing PMs as workout loans, especially post sub-prime crisis. We argue that by facilitating better risk sharing, PMs offer a means to enhance the efficiency and resiliency of the financial system.