– The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of financial integration on several macroeconomic variables from a global perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of financial integration on several macroeconomic variables from a global perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors apply a cointegrated vector autoregression model using quarterly data for 1980-2009. Analysing the interactions of globally aggregated measures capturing cross-border financial transactions, monetary liquidity, output, consumer and commodity prices, the authors focus on the dissection of short-run and long-run dynamics.
Findings
The authors find that increasing financial integration has a positive impact driving GDP. The authors also find evidence of two-way causality between commodity prices and financial flows. The results suggest that commodity prices are driven by financial integration and the gap between the dynamics of commodity prices and financial flows is closed by global liquidity injected by central banks.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the empirical literature by analysing the overall impact of global financial integration and of global liquidity on global macroeconomic variables in a unified framework.
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Jonas Hahn, Verena Keil, Thomas Wiegelmann and Sven Bienert
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of changes in macro-economic conditions going forward, focusing on a change in interest policy, with regard to office letting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of changes in macro-economic conditions going forward, focusing on a change in interest policy, with regard to office letting and investment markets.
Design/methodology/approach
For this analysis, the authors constructed two vector-autoregressive models, measuring the response of office rents and capital values in Germany to economic impulses. The authors isolated effects of unique exogenous positive shocks (such as economic growth or interest leaps) on the basis of impulse-response functions in order to understand the complex dynamic interdependence between several economic factors and office performance changes.
Findings
The authors initially find a moderately positive development of both office performance components even although supposing an increase in interest level. In terms of capital values, the authors find that they do not drop before 1.5 years after the interest impulse and the negative effect peaks after approximately nine quarters. Furthermore, the reaction to a change in GDP is significantly lower than a reaction to the interest rate, but impulses in other macro-economic factors provoke stronger reactions. Finally, the authors find that a positive interest shock leads to a comparably robust development and economic sustainability in office rents throughout a consideration horizon of 24 quarters.
Research limitations/implications
Estimations are based on observations from a time period containing two rather extraordinary market phases. As they included bubble growth and the low-interest environment, the authors find that certain patterns in both phases neutralize each other when looking at the total time frame. The authors constructed sub-samples to compensate for this. However, the research does not provide to what extent the measured impulse-responses stay forecast-proof, if the market moves into a phase of short-term normalization.
Practical implications
This paper provides insights into estimated impulse-response patterns on a hypothetical sudden increase of several macro-economic determinants. On this basis, the probable reaction to an increase in, for example, the interest rate level can be approximated. Also, the paper provides a fundamental understanding of the economic sustainability of German office properties in terms of their value and rent performance in the case of exogenous shocks.
Originality/value
This paper contains the first vector-autoregressive, impulse-response analysis of office markets in Germany in the context of several macro-economic drivers, including the interest level. It delivers insights into market reaction patterns on the basis of simulated one standard deviation shocks in all included variables.
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Since the publication of the 1987 Brundtland Report, discussions about sustainable development have been nothing short of a buzz among politicians and academics. This chapter…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the publication of the 1987 Brundtland Report, discussions about sustainable development have been nothing short of a buzz among politicians and academics. This chapter takes stock of an emerging strand of the sustainable city literature that recognizes local political dynamics, conflicts of interest, and power struggles.
Approach
The review is organized into three sections. The first section reviews how past studies have utilized sustainable urban development as an opportunity for advancing theories of urban politics, highlighting recent developments in the growth machine, regulatory state, and risk society theses. The second section examines a range of studies that place the questions of scale, unit, and boundary at the center of inquiry. The third section draws together a body of research that interrogates different meanings of sustainability.
Implications
The first section discusses the extent to which social and political processes in the sustainability age exhibit a pattern consistent with established theoretical accounts. The second section focuses on studies that address how urban sustainable development has brought challenges to existing configurations of spatial relations. These studies pose important methodological and epistemological questions for studying environmental politics. In the third section, the focus is placed on political implications of urban sustainable development, which is subject to multiple interpretations.
Originality
This chapter ends with a review of an emerging thesis – strategic urbanism, which draws attention to the patterns of change in urban politics. Much of the contributions to this thesis are based on urban sustainability politics in recent years.
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João Carvalho Santos, Hortênsia Barandas-Karl and Francisco Vitorino Martins
In this chapter we test a conceptual model to shed light on the psychic distance (PD) hazards in cross-border acquisitions’ (CBAs’) performance. Only a few studies have sought to…
Abstract
In this chapter we test a conceptual model to shed light on the psychic distance (PD) hazards in cross-border acquisitions’ (CBAs’) performance. Only a few studies have sought to examine the impact of national-level dimensions on CBAs’ performance, such as cultural distance or PD, with non-conclusive and contradictory results. Event study methodology is used to scrutinize the impact of the five key dimensions of psychic distance stimuli (PDS) on the stock market performance of the US acquirer firms and 26 countries involved in the CBA. Our results support that PD, as a whole, has a negative impact on CBAs’ performance although only in the short term there is a statistically significant negative impact, whereas in the long term no effect is statistically significant. Analyzing the different dimensions of PDS, only differences in language, education, and political systems are significant. This chapter is the first to empirically examine the PD hazards on CBAs by breaking down the PDS and test the effect of each dimension on CBAs´ performance. The findings of this study may be useful for managers of firms that wish to undertake CBAs as it denotes important dimensions which hinder post-deal performance.
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Saran Jonas, Giacinto Grieco, Robert Norman, Surah Grumet and Ilan Kedan
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between occupational degree requirement and mortality between ethnic groups in a cohort of urban workers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between occupational degree requirement and mortality between ethnic groups in a cohort of urban workers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study included 118,606 health-insured full-time workers from the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC). Mortality rates (MR) and mortality rate ratios (MRR) were calculated for major ethnic categories. Estimates were adjusted for age, sex, and occupational degree requirement.
Findings
Prior to adjustment for degree requirement, mortality rates (MRs) by ethnic groups in the Health and Hospitals Corporation were in line with national estimates: highest for blacks, followed by whites, Hispanics, and Asian/Pacific Islander (APIs). After adjustment, the MR for blacks became comparable to whites (mortality rate ratio (MRR)=1.02). The low-Hispanic MR did not change; the Hispanic advantage persisted (MRR=0.66), as did the API advantage (MRR=0.50).
Research limitations/implications
Higher education may not substantially change the MR for Hispanics, and it may only account for a portion of the survival advantage among APIs. The findings also suggest that without reducing the disparity in higher education attainment between blacks and whites, equality in other socioeconomic factors may not abolish the disparity in mortality between these groups.
Originality/value
This study bypassed common limitations of ethnic mortality studies, with intrinsic parity for certain socio-economic status factors (full-time employment and health care access) across cohort members and consistent ethnic classification across time-points. This includes a cohort of API workers with complete self-identification of ethnicity, which has not been accomplished by previous investigations.
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Douglas Aghimien, Matthew Ikuabe, Lerato Millicent Aghimien, Clinton Aigbavboa, Ntebo Ngcobo and Jonas Yankah
The importance of robotics and automation (R&A) in delivering a safe built environment cannot be overemphasised. This is because R&A systems can execute a hazardous job function…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of robotics and automation (R&A) in delivering a safe built environment cannot be overemphasised. This is because R&A systems can execute a hazardous job function that the construction workforce may not execute. Based on this knowledge, this study aims to present the result of an assessment of the impediments to the deployment of R&A for a safe and healthy construction environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a post-positivist philosophical stance, using a quantitative research approach and a questionnaire administered to construction professionals in South Africa. The data gathered were analysed using frequency, percentage, mean item score, Kruskal–Wallis H-test, exploratory factor analysis and partial least square structural equation modelling (SEM).
Findings
This study revealed that the impediments to the deployment of R&A could be grouped into: industry, technology, human and cost-related factors. However, SEM assessment showed that only the industry, human and cost-related factors would significantly impact attaining specific health and safety-related outcomes.
Practical implications
The findings offer valuable benefits to construction organisations as the careful understanding of the identified impeding factors can help lead to better deployment of R&A and the attainment of its inherent safety benefits.
Originality/value
This study attempts to fill the gap in the shortage of literature exploring the deployment of R&A for a safe construction environment, particularly in developing countries like South Africa, where such studies are non-existent. This paper, therefore, offers a theoretical backdrop for future works on R&A deployment, particularly in developing countries where such a study has not been explored.
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Jonas Hedman, Felix B. Tan, Jacques Holst and Martin Kjeldsen
Recent innovations in payment instruments have fundamentally changed the ways we pay. These innovations, such as mobile/SMS payments and online banking, contain features that are…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent innovations in payment instruments have fundamentally changed the ways we pay. These innovations, such as mobile/SMS payments and online banking, contain features that are likely to influence how people choose to pay. The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors that impact payers’ choice of payment instruments.
Design/methodology/approach
Through in-depth interviews using the repertory grid technique, the authors explored 15 payers’ perceptions of six payment instruments, including coins, banknotes, debit cards, credit cards, mobile payments, and online banking. The approach draws heavily on organizational systematics to better understand payers’ choice of payment instruments.
Findings
A four-category taxonomy of payments was developed. The authors refer to the taxonomy as the 4Ps: the purchase, the payer, the payment instrument, and the physical technology. The taxonomy comprises 16 payment characteristics consisting 76 payment features that influence payers’ instrument choice. One characteristic not known in prior research was identified – that is, “cancellation” – a characteristic more frequently associated with digital payment instruments than with cash or checks.
Research limitations/implications
The findings suggest that payers view payment instruments in a much broader sense, including context, control, or cultural beliefs. Consequently, the authors suggest that researchers try to understand the essence of an innovation before assuming any economic rationalism in human or organizational behavior. The authors also urge researchers to understand the underlying meaning behind constructs of interest; as this study has shown that concepts like context and convenience have many different interpretations.
Practical implications
According to McKinsey (2014) there are over 12,000 startups in the payment arena. For them, the taxonomy can function as a template for the design of payment instruments, as well as understanding the various factors that influence payer choice of payment instruments.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this paper is the 4Ps taxonomy of payments. The taxonomy builds on and extends the work by Hirschman (1982). Since this work, and despite recent trends in payments, there has not been a comprehensive investigation that takes into account more recent innovations in payment instruments.
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Pedro Vaz Serra and Cláudia Seabra
Tourism, as a system, develops strategies for risk prevention and mitigation. The shock generated by the COVID-19 pandemic is different when compared with previous events because…
Abstract
Tourism, as a system, develops strategies for risk prevention and mitigation. The shock generated by the COVID-19 pandemic is different when compared with previous events because it is more intense and prone to structural changes. Tourists' perceptions condition their behaviour and decisions, with adverse results on travel and tourism consumption; and hygiene and health risks generate a cause-effect relationship on destination specificities.
From globalisation to risk perception and crisis management, in a framework where technology, communication and digital content represent undeniable importance, we are facing circumstances especially conducive to the redesign of the collective future, where the sustainability of tourism is a collective goal, arising from the right balance between the competitiveness of destinations and climate action.
Given the prospects for the next decade, health and hygiene are structural factors to be considered in decision-making processes. Thus, so the proposed approach contributes to the awareness, by the various stakeholders, of its importance and the need to implement methods and processes compatible with more inclusive and responsible tourism.
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Christian Eckert, Daniel Zacher, Harald Pechlaner, Philipp Namberger and Jürgen Schmude
Due to both the new quality and intensity overtourism discussions have received, it is time to examine the question concerning the consequences this development has on destination…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to both the new quality and intensity overtourism discussions have received, it is time to examine the question concerning the consequences this development has on destination level and how destinations can adjust their strategies for future development. This is especially important to consider, since overtourism can be seen as a fundamental issue for tourism development. First measures taken within destinations show that reactions are taking place, e.g. through access restrictions of frequently visited places. The purpose of this paper is to identify future-oriented strategies and to derive concrete measures in order to deal with overtourism on a destination level.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 19 qualitative interviews with European destination managers were conducted and evaluated via the qualitative analysis method GABEK® with WinRelan® software.
Findings
The results show that various stakeholders are involved in overtourism, with the destination management organization being the central actor to deal with issues. It is challenging to choose between different strategies and measures, which always have to be considered in relation to the specific conditions of a destination and the perception level of overtourism. In order to face current developments, the initiation of a stakeholder dialog can be seen as a promising factor, but also as a challenging task.
Originality/value
Currently, a “wait-and-see-attitude” exists, where well-known destinations are cited as negative examples, but a serious examination related to one’s own destination has not yet been developed. This consideration should be seen as a prerequisite for future-oriented destination development, which takes the local population into account.
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Dmitri G. Markovitch, Dongling Huang, Lois Peters, B.V. Phani, Deepu Philip and William Tracy
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate commitment escalation tendencies and magnitude in groups of entrepreneurship-minded decision makers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate commitment escalation tendencies and magnitude in groups of entrepreneurship-minded decision makers.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a software-based management simulation to expose 447 graduate business students in the USA and India to research stimuli under conditions that resemble important aspects of entrepreneurs’ business environment, such as a focus on overall firm performance. Unlike most previous escalation research that studied individuals, the primary unit of analysis is a three-person group.
Findings
The paper demonstrates a positive relationship between the groups’ entrepreneurial intentions and escalation magnitude. The paper also finds a direct relationship between sunk costs and subsequent investment amounts, suggesting an additional route through which sunk costs may impact escalation behavior – anchoring and insufficient adjustment.
Practical implications
The authors hope that the findings will stimulate further research on commitment escalation modalities and mechanisms among entrepreneurship-minded decision makers and provide impetus for efforts to develop effective debiasing strategies.
Originality/value
The study addresses a long-standing gap in entrepreneurship research, by demonstrating a significant positive relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and escalation behaviors. Also noteworthy, the results are generated using a different research method (simulation) than the experimental approach used in most extant escalation research. As such, the exploration provides important triangulating evidence that is currently lacking from the rich escalation literature.