Smokeless tobacco,smoking cessation and harm reduction: an economic analysis

Good estimates place ‘hard core’ smoking rates in the United States at approximately 25%, with little change over the decade of the 1990s. This paper examines the possibilities of ‘harm reduction’ with the use of smokeless tobacco. Specifically, using an econometric model we seek to determine whether an increase in the use of smokeless tobacco would lead to reduced smoking rates in the United States. Applying our model to the NHANES III (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) we find that the use of smokeless tobacco by an average U.S. male smoker would increase the average probability of smoke cessation by over 10%. Approximately 3 million additional ‘quits’ would result for 26 million smokers. Our study permits an examination of cessation by age groups and we find that males who use smokeless tobacco between 16 and 65 have a 10–14% probability of quitting but that the probability falls beyond age 66. Important implications for life extension and health costs would attend these results with, under conservative assumptions, life years saved approximating 2.16 million and health care cost-savings of about $3 billion per year.     

Gender,family ties,and international mobility: Cultural distance matters

This study empirically tests a model of associations between family-domain variables and willingness to accept an international assignment, and applies the general model to sub-samples of men and women to examine gender differences in the pattern of relationships. We further explore these patterns in culturally similar and culturally distant country destinations. Analyses conducted with a sample of 148 men and 79 women employed MBA graduates from dual-earner couples revealed that perceived spouse willingness to relocate, beliefs regarding spouse and couple mobility, relative income, and the presence of children are associated with willingness to accept an international assignment. Moreover, consistent with social role theory, significant gender differences in willingness were found across low and high cultural distance country destinations.     

Affects of alliance entrepreneurship on common vision,alliance capability and alliance performance

The underlying theoretical argument of our study concerns that value from alliance knowledge may be created not only through exploitation and augmentation of the existing organizational knowledge base, but more through entrepreneurial actions in accessing and integrating key strategic resources that exist in the alliance relationship. In this view, our study investigates the role of alliance entrepreneurship with its effects on common vision, alliance capability and alliance performance in penetrating into the foreign markets. This study develops and empirically tests a model that specifically focuses on (1) to what extent alliance entrepreneurship relates to developing a common vision between alliance and organizational knowledge, (2) to what extent alliance entrepreneurship relates to the alliance capability and alliance performance respectively, and (3) to what extent barriers to alliance knowledge acquisition and learning orientation moderate the relationship between alliance entrepreneurship and alliance capability.Based on a sample of 100 ICT firms, findings of our study reveal a positive and significant affect of alliance entrepreneurship on common vision, alliance capability and alliance performance. However, more significant support is received for the relation between alliance entrepreneurship and alliance capability through moderating interaction effects of barriers to alliance knowledge acquisition and firm level learning orientation.     

A strategic contingency approach to expatriate assignment management

This exploratory study examines how expatriate management practices differ with respect to three international management strategies (local, centralised or global) in 27 mature multinational corporations. In particular, this study examines the categories of expatriate assignments, the strategic integration of expatriate assignments into leadership development and the types of human resource practices that firms utilise to manage expatriates. Results indicate that organisations differentially assign expatriates based on the firm's respective international management strategy. Firms with a global management strategy made greater use of developmental expatriates, had a greater number of senior managers with expatriate experience and had a stronger focus on leadership development through expatriation. Firms did not differ with respect to their use of expatriate management practices based on their international management strategy.     

HUMAN CAPITAL AND LIFE-CYCLE EFFECTS ON RISK AVERSION

This paper provides additional evidence on life-cycle patterns of relative risk aversion, using spline functions generated on Consumer Expenditure Survey data. Human capital is hypothesized to affect relative risk aversion; age has been used in previous work as a proxy for human capital. The objective of this study is to determine whether there is a life-cycle pattern that is independent of the effect of human capital. The results suggest an affirmative answer. Moreover, this independent life-cycle pattern is the opposite of that estimated in a previous study that used age as a proxy.     

High-investment HR values and firm performance among local firms and U.S. MNCs’ subsidiaries in South Asia: a comparative study

Grounded in institutional theory, this study investigates the differential adoption and internalization of high-investment human resource (HR) values by local companies and by subsidiaries of US firms located throughout South Asia; and the impact of these HR values on firms’ performance. In line with our predictions, results suggest that US subsidiaries have a greater rate of adoption of high-investment HR values compared to local South Asian firms. Contrary to our predictions, however, both types of firms are similar in the level of internalization of their respective HR values. Finally, while greater levels of high-investment HR value adoption is associated with firm performance across the board, this relationship tends to be stronger for US MNCs’ subsidiaries compared to local South Asian companies. Theoretical and practical implications for the transfer and diffusion of high-investment HR values in institutionally and culturally distant contexts are discussed.     

The flow through of cost changes in competitive telecommunications: Theory and evidence

Flow through refers to the effect of a change in incremental production costs on the prices of goods or services, and is a topic of great interest to regulators and others. This article provides a framework for both analyzing flow through, and for evaluating whether or not flow through, properly defined, occurs in the long distance telecommunications industry. We focus on the effects of changes in switched access charges on domestic long distance prices for the largest U.S. long distance carriers in the late 1990s. Utilizing a double bootstrap technique uniquely suited to this problem, we find flow through occurred over the sample period. The technique illustrated here may find useful applications in other regulated sectors.First version received: March 2003 / Final version received: January 2004The authors are grateful to the editor and two anonymous referees for helpful comments and suggestions. All remaining errors are the responsibility of the authors.