Dimitra Loukia Kolia and Simeon Papadopoulos
This paper investigates the development of efficiency and the progress of banking integration in the European Union by checking for convergence among banks of European and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the development of efficiency and the progress of banking integration in the European Union by checking for convergence among banks of European and Eurozone countries as well as contrasting the results with those of United States banks.
Design/methodology/approach
Initially, we employ the two-stage semi-parametric double bootstrap DEA method, which absorbs the effects of possible integration barriers in the measurement of efficiency. Afterwards, we apply a panel data model, in order to investigate the process of banking integration by testing for convergence and for convergent clusters in banking efficiency.
Findings
Our main findings show that the bank efficiency of the US is considerably higher than that of the Eurozone and the European Union. Although there is no evidence of convergence across the banking groups, our results indicate the presence of club convergence. We also conclude that the US banking system is closer to convergence than the Eurozone and the European Union banks. Nevertheless, this outcome is subject to change in the future due to the fact that Eurozone and European Union banks' speed of convergence is higher than that of US banks.
Originality/value
Our survey is unique in trying to check for convergence while controlling for country-specific and bank-specific factors that affect the efficiency of European and Eurozone banks. Moreover, recent literature does not compare the convergence of efficiency of Eurozone, European and US banking. Finally, in our paper special consideration was given to the comparison of commercial, cooperative and savings banks, as subsets of our banking groups.
Details
Keywords
Simeon Papadopoulos and Stelios Karagiannis
The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues of efficiency, economies of scale and technical change in Southern European banking.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues of efficiency, economies of scale and technical change in Southern European banking.
Design/methodology/approach
The flexible Fourier functional form of the stochastic cost frontier approach is used to calculate inefficiencies for a large sample of Southern European banks between 1999 and 2004. Economies of scale estimates are calculated by estimating firm‐specific cost elasticities.
Findings
The findings suggest that the largest sized banks are generally the least efficient banks and the smallest sized banks are the most efficient. The strongest economies of scale are displayed by Spanish banks, while the weakest economies of scale are reported by Greek banks. The impact of technical change in reducing bank costs (generally about 3 and 4 per cent per annum) does not appear to differ according to bank size.
Research limitations/implications
This study does not distinguish private banks from public or mutual banks and does not account for the effect of risk on the employment of bank capital.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is to provide new and recent evidence on the very important issue of efficiency and technical change in Southern European markets.
Details
Keywords
This paper explores the issue of efficiency in European banking. It tries to distinguish among the market‐structure and efficient‐structure hypotheses by incorporating into our…
Abstract
This paper explores the issue of efficiency in European banking. It tries to distinguish among the market‐structure and efficient‐structure hypotheses by incorporating into our empirical analysis measures of X‐efficiency and scale‐efficiency. Tests of the four hypotheses (the two market power hypotheses and the two efficient structure hypotheses) were performed by regressing measures of concentration, market share, X‐efficiency and scale efficiency against profits. Our empirical findings seem to suggest that the two efficient structure variables do not help in the explanation of the variability of bank profits and, hence, these results do not provide any support for the two efficient structure hypotheses. Our findings also indicate that big banks are more X‐efficient than small banks. This result seems to suggest that there are cost advantages associated with greater bank size.
Details
Keywords
Melodena Stephens Balakrishnan
Travel and tourism is the second largest global industry with daily international revenues of approximately US$2 billion, and investments of 12 percent of world GDP. Though this…
Abstract
Purpose
Travel and tourism is the second largest global industry with daily international revenues of approximately US$2 billion, and investments of 12 percent of world GDP. Though this is a highly competitive industry, there is a paucity of academic research on destination branding. This paper aims to present a branding framework for designing successful destination strategies. This exploratory study seeks to determine key factors that affect the strategic branding of destinations.
Design/methodology/approach
Similar fields like place marketing, destination marketing, services, product and corporate branding were reviewed along with destination case studies. Based on this review and its extrapolation to the “destination context”, a framework for strategic branding of destinations was formulated.
Findings
Successful strategic branding of destinations is dependent on several inter‐related components, which are discussed. The paper highlights key issues in destination branding and provides a platform for future research.
Originality/value
The value of the paper is high as it provides a practical framework for governing bodies to consider when investing time, money and effort when creating a global destination.
Details
Keywords
Ibrahim Cifci, Ozan Atsız and Vikas Gupta
This study aims to understand the components of the street food experiences of the local-guided tour in the meal-sharing economy based on the online reviews of tourists who…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the components of the street food experiences of the local-guided tour in the meal-sharing economy based on the online reviews of tourists who experienced a meal-sharing activity with a local guide in Bangkok.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the qualitative approach, this study involved a content analysis of 384 narratives on Withlocals.
Findings
The study identified five components that embrace the street food experience: a local guide’s attributes, perceived food authenticity, local culture, perceived hygiene or cleanliness. Results also revealed that the Thai street foods are unique and authentic and can reach this experience level through a local guide.
Originality/value
Although the importance of international travellers' street food experiences and the popularity of the meal-sharing economy platforms are rapidly growing, there is no study which had combined both of these phenomena together to date. It is the first attempt to reveal the components of street food experiences in a meal-sharing platform.
Details
Keywords
Denitsa Dineva, Jan Breitsohl, Holger Roschk and Masoumeh Hosseinpour
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one dark social-media phenomenon in particular has experienced a significant rise: consumer-to-consumer (C2C) conflicts, i.e. consumers…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one dark social-media phenomenon in particular has experienced a significant rise: consumer-to-consumer (C2C) conflicts, i.e. consumers who verbally attack each other in response to COVID-19 service failures. The aim of this paper is to uncover the sources of such conflicts and to gain an insight into the corresponding conflict moderation strategies that international brands adopt.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology consists of non-participatory netnographic observations of 13 national, international, and global online brand communities (OBCs) on Facebook. The authors use purposeful sampling to collect relevant data on conflict sources and brand moderation strategies during COVID-19 service failures and a hybrid approach to thematic analysis to derive distinct themes from these data.
Findings
The paper identifies five C2C conflict sources: brand attack, brand dissatisfaction, brand skepticism, brand contention and brand defense; these are then classified as having either an individualistic (self-oriented) or collectivistic (other-oriented) orientation. The authors also uncover several moderation strategies: non-engaging, automated, bolstering, asserting (direct, indirect) and informing (factual, empathetic, apologetic), which are broadly categorized into two levels based on their passive vs active approach and authoritative vs cooperative orientation. The paper further highlights that brands adapt their moderation strategies to specific sources of C2C conflicts, thereby producing a range of OBC outcomes.
Practical implications
The study's empirically informed framework comprising sources of undesirable conflicts and brand moderation strategies offers a practical tool that can aid marketing managers in nurturing civil C2C engagement and interactive behaviors in their OBCs. By adopting our framework, brand and marketing practitioners can tailor their communication strategies toward different sources of C2C conflict and minimize their adverse consequences, thus, fostering an overall constructive OBC engagement.
Originality/value
The authors offer a novel framework to international marketing research, consisting of C2C conflict sources and corresponding moderation strategies that take place in response to service failures during the COVID-19 pandemic. These insights, in turn, inform international marketers about new ways of transforming the dark side of OBCs into a source of competitive advantage based on real-world brand practice.