Volume 44 (2014): Edition 1 (December 2014)

Economics-based models of firms typically overlook management acts and capability development. We propose a model that analyzes the aggregate behavior of a population of firms resulting from both specific management decisions and learning processes, that induce changes in companies’ capabilities. Decisions are made under imperfect information and bounded rationality, and managers may sacrifice short-term performance in exchange for qualitative outcomes that affect their firm’s future potential. The proposed model provides a structured setting in which these issues -often discussed only informally- can be systematically analyzed through simulation, producing a variety of hard-to-anticipate emergent behaviors. Economic performance is quite sensitive to managers’ estimates of their firms’ capabilities, and companies willing to sacrifice short-run results for future potential appear to be more stable than the rest. Also, bounded rationality can produce chaotic dynamics reminiscent of real life situations.

The European Union has adopted several strategies to cope with a set of inter-related problems. The best known is the Europe 2020 strategy with its focus on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Another is fostering balanced macro growth via a strengthening of the EMU. Finally the cohesion policy has to cope with spatial unbalances. The objective of this paper is to highlight the main issues in three policy fields: competitiveness, EMU and cohesion.1 Two scenarios for post 2020 development are described, which show the need for further strengthening of EU policies and of the quality of government at all levels.

This paper investigates the effects of firm size, competition and access to finance on the innovation performance of that firm. After a review of the relevant literature, three logit models are proposed and tested. The empirical analysis is based on the business environment and enterprise performance survey (BEEPS) for 1053 enterprises from twenty-six countries in years 2002 and 2005. Our results suggest a positive and statistically significant relationship between firm size and innovation. We also find a positive relationship between both competition and access to finance with innovation.

This article seeks to answer two related questions: are celebrity endorsements more likely to be result in a higher evaluation of the product being advertised than use of an anonymous individual (e.g. a typical consumer); and, if present, do these positive effects vary by product category? To answer these two questions research was conducted on a 237 student sample employing a quasi-experiment consisting of four groups (two product categories and two types of endorsers) using data collected through an online survey. The results indicate that celebrity endorsements do have a positive impact on the evaluation of durable goods, but do not affect the evaluation of frequently purchased products. This finding largely confirms the assumptions of the match-up model, the meaning transfer model, and the ELM model.

The purpose of this work is to identify whether the development of an insurance market is linked to economic growth in former transition countries. A multiple regression analysis is employed to estimate the insurance-growth relationship, using a cross-country panel dataset analysis tracking annual total insurance penetration in 10 countries over the 2000-2012 period, and applying a fixed effect model to test the hypothesis that this linkage is demonstrably positive. The results show a negative and statistically non-significant correlation between insurance and GDP growth, suggesting a lack of evidence that insurance promotes economic growth in post-transition economies.

The primary objective of the study was to quantitatively test the DART model, which despite being one of the most popular representations of co-creation concept was so far studied almost solely with qualitative methods. To this end, the researchers developed a multiple measurement scale and employed it in interviewing managers. The statistical evidence for adequacy of the model was obtained through CFA with AMOS software. The findings suggest that the DART model may not be an accurate representation of co-creation practices in companies. From the data analysis it was evident that the building blocks of DART had too much of conceptual overlap to be an effective framework for quantitative analysis. It was also implied that the phenomenon of co-creation is so rich and multifaceted that it may be more adequately captured by a measurement model where co-creation is conceived as a third-level factor with two layers of intermediate latent variables.