Search results

Panama is an isthmian strip of land uniting Central and South America, extending approximately 75,000 square kilometres and whose borders are: to the North, the Caribbean Sea; to the South, the Pacific Ocean; to the East, the Republic of Colombia; and to the West, the Republic of Costa Rica.

New measures to prevent financial crime in the offshore banking centres of Latin America and the Caribbean are helping to bring about more effective controls. The author welcomes the present trend towards closer international cooperation and greater vigilance.

Introduces the measures taken in South America’s Spanish, Portuguese and French speaking countries, and in the Spanish‐speaking Caribbean, to create a framework for combating money laundering; despite this, the outcome has been poor in terms of money laundering cases prosecuted, and the black economy in the four main drug producing countries is estimated as worth around US$13 billion a year. Gives a table of 39 money laundering schemes, indicating the effectiveness of each, and outlines trends in avoidance: avoiding the use of cash, development in methods of risk and control, and techniques based on penetration or control, like the “black market peso exchange” between the USA and Colombia. Moves on to improvements made by financial institutions and authorities against money laundering, based on three elements: expanding the application of “know your customer”, analysing use of services by customers, and establishing a reliable monitoring system for suspicious transactions.

The struggle against corruption is not an area where any state has had a sufficiently high success rate to become complacent, particularly when bearing in mind the evidence of the scale on which such crimes are being committed. This lack of success applies in terms of both the number of prosecutions brought and, at least in those states where the burden of proof rests on the state, the success rate in attaining successful prosecutions. Particular problems arise for developing countries. This paper considers reasons for the increase in the scale of the problem, and the steps a developing country will need to consider in terms of staff and institutional development, in addition to changes in its criminal and civil law. By comparison, it also looks at successful developments in developed countries that highlight approaches to the problem which may have an impact if used elsewhere.

In a recent speech LORD ROSEBERY charged the people of this country with possessing, to an inordinate extent, the fatal gift of complacency, and he observed that the nation which is not progressive is retrogressive. “Rest and be thankful,” said LORD ROSEBERY, is a motto which spells decay, and those who have any experience of the methods of the manufacturers of the country will admit that this seemingly severe impeachment is by no means unfounded or uncalled‐for. Industries, of which at one time the English were masters, are now gradually falling into other hands. The workers of other lands are successfully competing with our own, and yet, in spite of this condition of our mercantile affairs, the spirit of complacency is rampant. The sons are content to continue in the footsteps of the fathers, oblivious of the fact that time and seasons do not stand still and that they may be overwhelmed by the advancing flood of competition. The trade conservatism which was in the past opposed to the introduction of the steam‐engine, the power‐loom, and other mechanical appliances, is still responsible for the extreme slowness with which English firms appreciate the necessity for such innovations in the conduct of their business as would place them in a position to hold their own in the markets of the world. In respect to the protection of pure food production Great Britain and the British manufacturers are still a long way behind. Although the Sale of Food and Drugs Act of 1875 was one of the first Acts passed in any country to prevent the sale of adulterated food and drink, its machinery is cumbrous, and the subsequent Amendment Acts have not added materially to its efficiency; with the result that the Adulteration Acts do not compare favourably with those of many other countries. The spirit of complacency in regard to food products has affected alike the producer and the distributor, and the result is that in many instances there is no adequate inducement to produce anything but a mediocre article—such an article, in fact, as only escapes condemnation because of the faulty construction of the machinery of the law.

In the decades following Chile's 1990 return to democracy, successive governments adopted pioneering reforms aimed at modernizing the state and strengthening democratic governance. This chapter discusses the major developments within Chile's public sector since 1990, with an emphasis on reforms affecting the civil service and public sector management. The politics of the reform process was notable for successful consensus building and led to a more meritocratic, professionally managed public employment system. This chapter also provides an overview of initiatives to strengthen accountability through greater transparency and citizen participation in government, as well as the major public sector management reforms adopted during the last three decades.

This paper aims to explore tourist perceived value and attachment to intelligent voice assistants (IVAs) as antecedents of the quality of the human–IVA relationship in the hospitality domain. This research also examines the moderating role of psychological factors (self-esteem) and knowledge factors (past experience and technology expertise) in the relationships between antecedents and relationship quality.

The researchers conducted two quantitative studies, collecting data via online surveys in Mechanical Turk (n₁ = 124 and n₂ = 281). The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The first study uncovers that tourist perceived value is the main influence on the quality of the relationship between tourists and IVAs. The second study confirms the direct relationships of the first and shows that self-esteem and technology expertise act as moderators.

This study advances the understanding of the tourism and hospitality stakeholders in using modern technologies (e.g. IVAs). Through comprehending the relationship building between individuals and IVAs, the stakeholders will be able to craft better strategies.

The study extends the attachment and social exchange theories to the tourist–IVA relationship context. Specifically, this research demonstrates the impact of tourist perceived value on the quality of the relationship with the IVA. It also points out that tourists’ self-esteem and technology expertise can weaken the tourist–IVA relationship.

Marketers worldwide consider athlete endorsement a highly effective promotional tool. However, little is known about consumers' responses towards athlete endorsement in global markets - particularly the bi-directional image transfer mechanism. This study examines the image match between athlete endorsers and products using a three-dimensional visual map and comparing image perceptions towards athlete endorsements among respondent groups from Japan, Korea and the United States during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The results show that image perceptions of selected athlete endorsers, endorsed products and their match are significantly different in these markets.

This study aims to analyse the influence of the pillars (hard and soft skills) of digital academic entrepreneurship on students' entrepreneurial intention.

This was done by adopting a quantitative methodology involving empirical research with a sample of 761 university students from two countries and adopting structural equation analysis to validate the theoretical model proposed.

The results indicate a direct influence between hard and soft skills and entrepreneurial intention, and a positive, indirect influence between these and entrepreneurial intention mediated by the dimensions of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) – entrepreneurial attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. Therefore, the pillars of digital academic entrepreneurship have a direct and indirect influence on university students' entrepreneurial intention.

This study also contributes to better operationalization of entrepreneurial education in university environments, since the development of hard and soft skills can be planned better based on the model proposed here. Considering the relations between the dimensions of hard and soft skills and those of TPB, this study shows there can be an influence on students' entrepreneurial intention.

In this study, a new and innovative construct is inserted in the model of entrepreneurial intention: “structural pillars of digital academic entrepreneurship” through structural equation modelling, to determine the degree of influence of these pillars (hard and soft skills) constructs on HEI students' entrepreneurial intention.

Taking as reference a sample of around a hundred biographical materials on entrepreneurs in Mexico and Colombia, the purpose of this chapter is dual. Both to show the relevance and varied modalities that the biographical approach has enjoyed in business history research since the 1990s, and to display the intrinsic potential this modality of scholarship entails for entrepreneurship endeavors. In particular, it discusses the prospects to incorporate this body of empirical works into the large Latin American audience attending undergraduate, graduate and executive education programs in business, economic history and related fields. The chapter is organized into three sections. The first two are devoted to illustrate relevant patterns in the entrepreneurial trajectory of individuals and entrepreneurial families studied in each of the two countries under consideration. The last section identifies some conceptual issues that may impact current debates on Latin American business development as exemplified in recent business and economic history journal venues and scholarly conferences.