Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Choice of markets'
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Whyte, Stephen G. "Decision making in mate choice markets." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2018. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/118622/2/Stephen_Whyte_Thesis.pdf.
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Choosing a mate is arguably the largest decision a human can make. Mate choice can have significant short and long run impacts on the individual decision maker, as well as macroeconomic impacts for society. By studying individuals mating preferences and behaviours, and the factors at play when individuals make mate choice decisions, behavioural science can build a more developed understanding of the unseen mechanisms that drive large scale decision processes. Understanding the interplay of such factors as an individual's biology, personality, education, income, sex/gender, sexuality, and micro level behaviour, can inform and develop sciences understanding of how humans make decisions.
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Wang, Seok-Dong. "Occupational choice, financial markets and income distribution." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0006/NQ42573.pdf.
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Sharma, Jyoti. "INVs' Choice of Entry Mode in Emerging Markets." Thesis, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for industriell økonomi og teknologiledelse, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-15039.
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The rapid growth and development of emerging markets have made them noteworthy actors in today’s globalized world. These markets are no longer restricted to resourceful MNCs. The potential these markets represent has also been captured by an increasing number of opportunity seeking INVs. Meanwhile, INVs are different from MNCs. Hence, what influences the entry mode decision of MNCs may not be the case for INVs. Furthermore, studies on INVs present a dilemma between alternative governance structures and FDIs. The objective of this paper is therefore to examine how the different factors influence the entry mode decision of INVs in emerging markets. The factors considered are taken from the conceptual model of Lin (2000). These are entering firm, market environment, partner factor, transaction-specific factor, and competitive strategy. This paper performs qualitative research by conducting semi-structured interviews with four INVs from different emerging markets to address the objective. The findings of this paper support the use of HRC modes, especially wholly-owned subsidiaries, in emerging markets. This decision is mostly influenced by transaction-specific and competitive strategic concerns. Knowledge-based INVs have to protect against leakages and expropriation of their valuable assets. This is why partner factors are of less significance when deciding on an entry mode. The risk of losing knowledge to partners is considered greater than the benefits of sharing risks. Furthermore, local presence signifies long-term commitment and makes it easier to seize emerging opportunities. Moreover, entering firm variables are also significant influencers of the decision. An international orientation is vital for the firm to risk using complex modes in highly uncertain markets. The market environment factor is therefore of less significance because the firms acknowledge that emerging markets are inevitable for niche-serving INVs. Considering the entry mode dilemma for INVs, this paper supports the use of FDIs. INVs need to take strategically optimal choices, despite their being start-ups. Alternative governance structures are not supported due to transaction-specific and competitive strategic variables. The argument supporting alternative governance structures, namely resource and power constraints, can be overcome through leveraging on other sources. The financial constraints are also of less significance due to the low-cost nature of emerging markets. Efficiency and context-specific knowledge can be learnt over time. Meanwhile, control is important in uncertain environments marked by unpredictable conditions. Hence, extant research on this area supporting the use of alternative governance structures is discarded due to the conflicting findings, especially when considering emerging markets. However, this field needs further research to support the findings of this study. Researchers eager to explore this relatively untouched field have more than enough to keep themselves occupied with.
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McLean, Victoria. "Analysing competitive markets through consumer choice : a model for competitive market analysis and related market study." Thesis, Southampton Solent University, 1998. http://ssudl.solent.ac.uk/2448/.
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Competition policy prescriptions have historically been based on beliefs about the most effective and socially acceptable forms of economic organisation. Despite many theoretical developments, there is little agreement between economists over which theoy ensures effective competition in the public interest. This thesis presents a new perspective for analysing competitive markets by making the consumers' interests the prime focus for policy decisions rather than the firms' behaviour. In this approach, consumers determine the level of 'acceptable' competition and identify areas in which competition could be improved, as opposed to policy makers who theoretically determin how to promote 'effective' competition within markets. This view is developed into a new model for Competitive Market Environment Analysis, the validity of which is verified by a quantitative study of the UK Academic and Professional book market. An innovative and quantitative approach to the 'Public Interest Criterion' of competition policy is developed through a statistical gap analysis technique which measures the extent to which consumers' desires/needs are met by their competitive market environment. Within the model, the gap analysis technique uses a 'degree of congruence' as the unifying factor between supply and demand, for which a quantitative measure of zero indicates perfect market equilibrium. Both the model and gap analysis measurement technique are tested on the UK Academic and Professional book market and a particular type of market conduct namely, the Net Book agreement. The analysis shows that consumers of Academic and Professional books have experienced little benefit or detriment from the abrogation of the agreement. Areas for improvement of Academic and Professional book supply are identified and further extensions of this research are proposed. In summary, the thesis offers a new perspective on competition, a new approach to market analysis a new model and methodology for conducting market analysis and a new quantitative measurement technique. The research has significant implications for policy decision, because the focus on consumer welfare within markets, combined with the gap analysis measurement technique, can be used to measure whether forms of market conduct should be viewed as anti-competitive.
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Zhou, Weifeng. "Behaviour of futures markets and implication for portfolio choice." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2018. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/8263/.
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First, we document the co-existence of the time series momentum and of the term structure factors in the global commodity futures market. We demonstrate that the strategies based on the joint time series momentum and term structure trading signal outperform time series momentum only strategies and term structure only strategies. Second, we propose a Multivariate Volatility Regulated Kelly strategy, which imposes extra variance penalization compared to the Kelly criterion. We furthermore demonstrate the superiority of our method in relatively low correlated portfolios, relative to the fractional Kelly and full Kelly strategies. The simulation results and Chinese commodity future empirical results strongly support our method. Third, we combine the shrinkage theory and CUSUM change point detection in order to improve the covariance estimators. The change point embedded covariance estimator can pe1jorm better than any shrinking covariance estimators in the portfolio management. We empirically test different shrinkage estimators based portfolios in global futures markets.
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Luu, Dennis, and Johanna Holst. "How far east? : a study of the choice between outsourcing markets." Thesis, Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för hälsa och samhälle, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hkr:diva-11020.
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Outsourcing is an important subject in the industrial business. Most of the companies in Sweden have some sort of outsourcing relations with foreign countries. The last decade many Swedish companies have moved their production to China through outsourcing relationships. In the recent years there are signs of a shift in the outsourcing trend. The trend includes Swedish companies to move their production from China to closer markets, for example,countries in Eastern Europe.This is mainly caused by changes in external factors, such as increasing transportation cost, increasing labor costs in China and the lack of flexibility have made companies reorganize their production alternatives. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the factors that lie behind the decision to outsource and if there are any differences when it comes to the outsourcing process depending on the market.The research was conducted through interviews with companies with existing outsourcing relations in those markets. The purpose of the interviews was to obtain an insight of the outsourcing process, how factors importance vary from situation to situation and what complications that have occurred.The result shows that there often are more complications with China than with Eastern Europe. That smaller companies seems to have more difficulties when the outsourcing relations with China are established. The result also indicated that if flexibility and speed-to-market is important parts of the companies’ business model it is more likelythat an outsourcing relationship with Eastern Europe will be beneficial.The contribution of the dissertation mightbe of importance for smaller companies who are in the process of outsourcing or consider to start an outsourcing relationship with a foreign market.
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Li, Yu 1976. "Impact of modern logistics on industrial location choice and property markets." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42259.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-152).
The debate on the impact of modern logistics on industrial location choice and property markets focuses on (1) whether modern inventory control and supply- chain configuration consolidate manufacturing and distribution locations and (2) whether modern logistics have reduced the demand for industrial real estate. In this research, I test the hypothesis that modern logistics have been restructuring industrial manufacturing and distribution networks, dispersing firms into certain regions to achieve the economies of dispersion, and reducing the demand for industrial space per unit of industrial output. The methodology used includes (a) theoretical analysis, (b) statistical and econometric analysis, (c) case studies, and (d) comparative analysis. Because the theoretical analysis does not provide a clear conclusion, I rely on empirical analyses to derive the actual impact or implications. Principle findings from the U.S. empirical study include (1) the changes in the distribution sector have a more significant impact on industrial location choice and property markets than the changes in the manufacturing sector; (2) both manufacturing and distribution industries have been dispersed in the past two decades; (3) improvement of inventory control is almost ubiquitous and, within a supply chain, certain players' gains are not necessarily at the cost of their suppliers' or customers' losses; (4) the traditional partial stock-adjustment model using yearly data does not explain the industrial property market well.
(cont.) Major findings from the China case studies include (1) modern logistics enable manufacturers to achieve cost reductions and service-level improvements simultaneously, and the impacts on their industrial location choice and space demand are consistent with the empirical findings of their U.S. counterparts; (2) with the expansion of globalization, advances in information technology, development of efficient markets, and increased demand from sophisticated customers, location choice and demand for industrial space will continue to be determined by the requirements of efficient supply chains.
by Yu Li.
Ph.D.
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Du, Toit Sedik. "Parental Choice in South African High Schools: An urban Cape Town Case Study." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2008. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_9351_1258028191.
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This study examines how families judge and choose high schools. The review of literature relating to school choice provides a theoretical framework for the study. The review includes an international perspective including both developed countries such as United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, England and Wales, the Netherlands, Scotland and Sweden, and developing countries including India, Chile, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritania, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and South Africa. The context within which school choice occurs in South Africa is examined. This context includes continued influence of Apartheid policies and current legislation including the South African Schools Act, The Admission Policy for Ordinary Schools Act and the Norms and Standards for Schools Funding. The literature review includes a critical analysis of the research, both Local and International, which addresses questions as to which factors are considered when judging and choosing schools, who makes the choice school, when the choice of school is made and which sources of information inform the choice of school. The empirical study examines the process of high school choice in urban Cape Town. The group areas Act and other Apartheid policies have created a situation where the respondents have a large number of high schools from which to chose. The selected area reflects diversity in Socio-Economic status, including both privately owned homes and council rental flats and houses. The study is limited to English medium or dual medium schools in the area. It includes both co-ed and single gender schools.
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Tantu, Feleke, and Md Ashiqur Rahman. "Emerging markets: A case study on foreign market entry in Bangladesh." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Ekonomihögskolan, ELNU, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-12087.
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Abstract Title: Emerging Markets – A Case Study in Foreign Market Entry toBangladesh Keywords: emerging market, entry strategy, market entry, factors behind entry choice, entry mode, entry node, entry timing Background: Internationalism and international marketing are hot topics among the strategy discussions of the companies and as a result companies continuously look for new, unreached sales potential to their products and services as well as better use of their resources. Purpose: To find the most efficient international market entry strategy for companies moving from developed/transition economy to an emerging market. Theoretical framework: The base for the start of internationalisation process is company’s inner motives and resources. Motives and resources combined with the cultural distance, competition and general external environment of host country form potential company-specific risks for the entry to foreign market. Potential customers in combination with company resources shows how big is the match between market demand and what company can offer and therefore determines the potential reward. Risks and reward are both input to the decision making process where the potential benefits and drawbacks are analysed against each other. The output of this decision making is the entry strategy. Methodology: Internet was mainly used to collect secondary data about company resources, cultural distance and external environment. Interviews with 150 retailers inBangladesh were conducted to collect primary data about the competition and consumer behaviours in the hosiery market ofBangladesh. Then comparative analysis was made based on the model developed by the authors to reach to the decision. Conclusion: The most effective entry strategy for the entry to emerging markets is indirect exporting through an agent in case there is high location risk, moderately high competition risk, medium country risk and moderately low demand risk, the company has no surplus finances for big investments and no prior experience in doing business in an emerging market.
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Riley, Debra Lynn. "The choice of standards as a competitive strategy in high tech markets." Thesis, London Business School (University of London), 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.405845.
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Ahmerkamp, Jan. "Return predictability and optimal portfolio choice : evidence from commodity and global futures markets." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/24770.
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Time variation in expected returns is understood to be a common feature across aggregate asset classes as diverse as equities, currencies and bonds. Less is known on aggregate commodity return predictability. Findings of this thesis provide evidence of time variation of commodity returns and assesses its economic value within portfolio allocation strategies. Further findings demonstrate the effect aggregate hedge fund capital has on the profitability of carry and momentum strategies across global futures markets. Besides the financial implications, the findings of this thesis also affect policies with respect to international macroeconomics, poverty alleviation, energy and climate policy, and commodity market regulation. First, I study variation of expected commodity return portfolios. I run regressions of 1 to 9 months portfolio holding returns on lagged average futures discounts (AFD). I find that the AFD predicts commodity portfolio returns with 9 months $R^2$ values of 10 percent. Most predictable variation is a result of spot premia variation, while term premia are only significantly time-varying on short term horizons. Variation in the AFD is procyclically related to macroeconomic conditions. The procyclical relation leads to strong return predictability: the AFD and US industrial production growth rates forecast up to 16 percent of the commodity portfolio holding return variation at the 9 months horizon. Second, I study the statistical and economic value of macroeconomic, financial and commodity market specific variables in predicting commodity returns. I estimate the models within a data-rich Bayesian model averaging (BMA) framework. I find that commodity portfolio returns and volatility are predictable across commodity sectors. Posterior model probabilities reveal that most of the predictable variation in commodity returns is due to macroeconomic variables of industrial production growth and the variation of the aggregate commodity basis. Portfolio volatility is related to lagged dividend yield, default spread, and inflation growth. I further find that an investor will pay a high performance fee to switch from a dynamic portfolio strategy based on a simple autoregressive benchmark models to a BMA model. In contrast a conditional volatility strategy does not generate significant economic gains. Third, in collaboration with James B. Grant, we provide evidence that hedge funds capital is a key determinant for the profitability of carry and momentum strategies in futures markets across asset classes. We parameterize carry and momentum portfolios from the perspective of a utility maximizing risk averse investor. We find that the returns to optimal carry and momentum strategies yield high Sharpe ratios (above 1.2), which are not a compensation for traditional risk exposure or time-varying risk due to macroeconomic cycles or funding liquidity, however they are related to pro-cyclical hedge fund capital flows. Larger capital flows lead to higher carry and momentum returns, implying that expected returns decrease with the total amount of assets under management by hedge funds. We argue that these findings are consistent with the notion of limits to arbitrage.
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Fuller, Rachel. "The link between consumer memory and brand choice : a comparison across two markets." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2017. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/27343.
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The aim of this thesis is to clarify the link between consumer memory and brand choice, which is a seminal assumption of prominent marketing theories and brand management practises, such as Customer Based Brand Equity (CBBE; Keller, 1993, 2003). The aim is important for two reasons: (i) recent evidence has questioned the precise nature of the link (e.g., Stocchi et al., 2015), thus potentially challenging a long-standing body of CBBE research; and (ii) up-to-date efforts in CBBE research have shifted towards linking the two aspects (memory and choice) to conceptualise CBBE as a process (e.g., Christodoulides et al., 2015; Grohs et al., 2016), but how exactly this can happen is still in its infancy (Stocchi and Fuller, 2017). The aim is addressed with two objectives. The first objective is to develop a new framework that conceptualises and operationalises the link between consumer memory and brand choice. This is reinforced with the second objective, which uses the framework to examine the link in, and across, two different markets ( repertoire and subscription markets; see Sharp et al., 2002). Importantly, the second objective addresses an additional problem of theoretical and practical relevance, which is a bias of CBBE research in goods markets (Christodoulides and de Chernatony, 2009) and an absence of comparative research across markets. This problem is worth addressing given the growing prevalence of non-goods offerings (Ostrom et al., 2014). The development of the new framework derives from the clarification and integration of two established research streams: brand retrieval research, which offers insight into the cognitive processes involved in the link between consumer memory and brand choice, and hierarchical models of brand choice, which detail the stages that brands move through in memory before choice. Specifically, the new framework provides a theoretically robust and multi-level examination of how consumers narrow down brands for choice in memory, which includes: (i) brand retrieval propensity (i.e., the likelihood to think of a brand(s) in purchase occasions; Romaniuk, 2013); (ii) the stages involved in the brand choice process, including the extent to which consumers narrow down brands between the stages; (iii) the relationship between brand retrieval and brand choice; and (iv) a feedback loop controlling for the impact of prior brand usage. The operationalization of the new framework is based on existing and new measures, thereby delivering some methodological advancements. The data used to examine the link between consumer memory and brand choice in and across markets derives from a large-scale UK consumer survey (N=771) capturing brand usage, brand awareness and brand image data for soft drinks (a proxy for repertoire markets) and banking (a proxy for subscription markets), from the same consumers, over three time periods. These tightly controlled variables support a robust comparison of the link across markets, which is facilitated further with the employment of a suite of empirical tools, including mean absolute deviations (MADs), correlations, ANOVAs and multiple linear regression. The thesis offers several theoretical contributions. Firstly, by clarifying the link between consumer memory and brand choice, the new framework addresses concerns over the validity of the link (Stocchi et al., 2015) and clarifies how CBBE can be conceptualized and measured as a process (Christodoulides et al., 2015). Moreover, the results of the thesis showed that the link between consumer memory and brand choice differs across markets, specifically: (i) consumers find it easier to think of subscription market brands in purchase occasions; (ii) subscription market brands face fiercer competition at the early stages of the brand choice process vs. the later stages for repertoire market brands; and (iii) consumers draw on memorized brand information to a greater extent when purchasing in subscription markets. These insights contribute to brand loyalty literature, where they offer a first simultaneous examination of the cognitive origins of loyalty (i.e., across multiple stages); and challenge Service Dominant Logic (SDL), where they reinforce the need to recognize differences between markets. Furthermore, the results offer novel insights for brand retrieval research by illustrating that such differences may originate, at least in part, from the prevalence of different pathways to brand retrieval, most notably recollection (the retrieval of experiential brand information). Managerially, the framework provides an advanced brand management tool that features key performance metrics related to brand choice, and advice for managers of how to build them. For instance, from the results in this thesis, the advice to managers in subscription markets is to build and reinforce attribute-to-brand cues in memory, and links from the brand to the category; whilst managers in repertoire markets should focus on building and reinforcing reasons to buy.
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Heath, Natalie Clare. "Choice markets and comprehensive schools : a qualitative study of teacher and student expereince." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2007. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020532/.
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The aims of the study were: to consider qualitatively the ways in which school choice and market policies were experienced by schools, teachers and students and to consider similarities and differences in choice patterns and student intakes in different locales. Six schools, three in each of two locales, North Town and East Town were considered. East Town was identified as a locale where parents actively chose schools, and North Town as a locale where few parents made active choices. Four tutor groups from each school, two from year eight and two from year ten, were interviewed along with a sample of teachers. The study uses post-structural analysis of discourses to examine the qualitative interview data. It also draws on several bodies of theory: Critical Race Theory; Foucauldian analysis; and Bourdieu's concept of capital. The thesis considers the effects of school choice on schools within each locale, comparing differences between the towns. It argues that whilst East Town is heavily affected by choice, there is little evidence of active choice within North Town. East Town teachers are heavily influenced by market and accountability discourses and feel in competition with other schools. As a result students are categorised by a fixed notion of ability and in relation to an 'ideal student'. Emphasis on ability was less visible in North Town where students are often unaware of choice. Choice in East Town had positive effects on some schools and students but negative effects on others, with serious consequences for student self esteem. Racial segregation across schools in both locales emerged as a central concern. In comparing the towns, the thesis argues that East Town provides an example of the effects of overt choice policy, whilst North Town is less affected by the choice market, retaining comprehensive ideals.
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Nell, Phillip C., Jonas Puck, and Stefan Heidenreich. "Strictly Limited Choice or Agency? Institutional Duality, Legitimacy, and Subsidiaries' Political Strategies." Elsevier, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2014.10.007.
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This article analyzes political strategies of MNC subsidiaries in emerging markets. We find that institutional pressures from public and private non-market actors in the emerging market lead to increased political activism. Furthermore, we find that these relationships become stronger, when the external pressures are joined by strong firm-internal pressures. Our findings contribute to the scarce literature on firms' political strategies in emerging markets. They also support recent criticism of institutional theory's strong focus on isomorphism as the most important legitimacy-conveying mechanism. We argue that the isomorphism-based either-or logic gives way to stronger agency of the subsidiary and to a logic of active negotiation and social construction of the subsidiary's legitimacy in the emerging market. Our findings show support for this idea as political activism is one such way how the subsidiary's legitimacy can be built and nurtured.
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Swanser, Kole. "Determinants of seller choice between auction and negotiation an empirical application to cattle markets /." Thesis, Montana State University, 2005. http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/2005/swanser/SwanserK0505.pdf.
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Yu, Zhongjian. "On the impact of inequality on investment and occupational choice under imperfect capital markets." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2012. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12596/.
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Direct finance such as stock and bond markets has provided an alternative source of funds for a large number of firms, which depends heavily on bank loans for credit previously. Bank loans are more expensive indeed than direct finance so that only those borrowers cannot access to capital markets turn to it. Such co-existence of alternative sources of finance has supplied prevalent issues for researches. The thesis focuses on investment choice and the selection of occupation with finance restriction under co-existence of finance sources. We also investigate the impact of inequality in imperfect markets. In Chapter 2 we develop a model in which agents differ according to their endowments of working capital. They can borrow their money to the capital market to earn interest, or invest in a CRS technology, which is an abbreviation of Constant Return to Scale. The return of CRS is a linear increasing function corresponding to its input. Hence it is a completely riskless investment. Individuals also can undertake a risky project which has a fixed set-up cost. On account of finance constraint, they make their investment and occupation choice. Because of imperfection in the market, lenders cannot obtain information about the real return of the risky project from borrowers, there is credit ration and many entrepreneurs invest at a sub-optimal status. We then introduce a monitoring technology to make it possible for external lenders to observe the return of the private project. Thus lenders who have the monitoring technology can supply any amount of money to borrowers and individuals have an alternative source to raise money. Our result shows the monitoring technology improve the economy. Part of poor individuals who are pure lenders in the previous situation can afford the set-up cost of the risky project. Meanwhile part of sub-optimally investment entrepreneur reach to a optimal status. Chapter 3 is an empirical test which is derived straightforwardly from the comparative statics results of Chapter 2. The comparative statics show that there are threshold effects of the model on income difference between the rich and the poor. In other words, if income difference is lower than a critical value, then the minimal investment level and the interest rate positively related to the mean wealth. Otherwise both of them negatively linked to the mean value. Comparing to the previous theoretical model, a significant improvement of the empirical model is that we substitute income inequality for income difference. In this chapter we discuss how the average wealth affects financial development over the different values of income inequality. We found both initial wealth and its distribution work together to determine the interest rate, the minimal investment level and consequently the size of the capital market. The empirical tests observe two important results. One is that a rise of average income does improve financial development as long as the income inequality is below a cut-off value. The other is that there is a strong threshold effect on income inequality. Chapter 4 modify the model of Chapter 2 from a continuous investment model to a fixed one while it introduce a labour market to analyze the markets equilibrium from both physical and human capital sides. We present a static model of an economy where individuals are heterogeneous in terms of initial wealth and there are credit constraints. Individuals are endowed with time resource which they can allocate between working and leisure to maximize their utility. What’s more, individuals can choose to either sell their labour in the labour market or self-employ. Put differently, depending on the opportunity costs of alternatives, they can supply as pure wage workers or become entrepreneurs by running a risky project. Workers receive fixed wages while entrepreneurs receive risky profits. Individuals make their decisions on either to be wage workers or entrepreneurs by comparing the utility from the wage work with that from the risky project. The endogenous interest rate adjusts to the point where the supply of credits is equal to the demand for funds while the wage rate meets the labour market clearing condition. We find that an increase in the mean wealth leads to a decrease in the interest rate. In equilibrium, the wage rate rises and so does the labour time. Meanwhile, both the optimal amount of labour and the minimal requirement of labour of the project decrease. Chapter 5 is a conclusion.
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Pacini, Henrique. "The Development of Bioethanol Markets under Sustainability Requirements." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Energi och klimatstudier, ECS, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-163406.
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This thesis is a theoretical and empirical examination of the developmentof bioethanol markets since 2005 when sustainability regulations forbiofuels were introduced globally. The experiences of Brazil and Sweden,and the influence of European regulations on the development ofbioethanol markets receive special attention. The work is based onprimary and secondary data sources gathered between 2009 and 2014,including interviews, field research, data from public and private sources,as well as an extensive literature review. The thesis uses case examples ofcountries that have adopted bioethanol as a transport fuel, such as Braziland Sweden.The research is structured using a bottom-up approach, and addressesthree specific angles of the complex issue of how bioethanol marketshave developed under sustainability requirements.The first part introduces an economic sustainability view of ethanol. Thecharacteristics of bioethanol fuel are presented together with conceptsand a theoretical framework for analysing biofuel sustainability. Policytools are also discussed, particularly those used to introduce fuel ethanolin the transport sector. The discussion is centred on the competitionbetween ethanol and gasoline, considering the hypothesis that consumersare sensitive to prices and tend to choose fuels based on their cost-perenergyunit. The analysis is supported by the case examples of Brazil andSweden, with special focus on the delicate balance between fueleconomies of bioethanol and gasoline systems in the face of differentways oil products are priced in those countries. Findings show thatdrivers tend to choose between bioethanol (E85/E100) or gasoline (E5-E25) depending on the relative prices between the two fuels. Theresearch results suggest that different pricing strategies for bioethanoland gasoline affect how consumers perceive the attractiveness of eachfuel. The examples of E100 in Brazil and E85 in Sweden provide insightson the elastic consumer behaviour that new markets may experience,serving to guide strategies in different contexts.The second part of this work bridges experiences in national contextswith the recent trend for biofuel sustainability regulation in internationalmarkets. Based on the hypothesis that the ethanol industry is responsiveto sustainability regulations, an examination of the development of theiiBrazilian bioethanol industry is carried out. This provides a comparisonframework drawing patterns between the industry's reaction to nationalregulations (past) and international regulations (recent). For this purpose,a comparison between the European sustainability requirements forethanol and the industry’s status quo is explored. Findings show that theEU sustainability criteria for biofuels are likely to have three effects onthe bioethanol industry: (i) compliance through incrementalimprovements in sustainability practices and certification; (ii) riskdiversification by engaging in multi-output production models; and (iii)market leakage towards less-regulated markets.The third part of the thesis brings together the first two parts. Itexamines how in a fuel competition context, the incorporation of costsrelated to sustainability certification can change the attractiveness ofhigh-bioethanol blends for consumers. The model of sustainabilityadopted by major international markets is based on regulations enforcedby mandatory certification. As biofuel market share increased, producerswere faced with costs for sustainability certification in order to obtainmarket access. While it was expected that ‘sustainably’ produced biofuelswould be rewarded with higher prices in the EU, this work found thatprice premiums for ethanol have in general been very small or inexistent,with certified fuels becoming the new norm in the market. New costsbrought into the market through sustainability certification can make itdifficult to balance between national policies heavily reliant on consumerchoice between fuels (and associated price-elasticities), and thedeployment of high blends of ethanol, such as E100 and E85.By analysing the three aspects (consumer behaviour and marketdynamics for ethanol in Brazil and Sweden, the introduction ofsustainability criteria for biofuels, and the implications of sustainabilityfor consumer choice between fuels) this work seeks to increaseunderstanding of the highly complex issue of biofuel market formationin the face of sustainability requirements. The key finding is thatsustainability certification has a cost, which needs to be orchestrated withother sectors of the economy to achieve the desired objectives. Thisthesis suggests that crucial areas of economic and environmentalsustainability have been often dealt with separately in biofuelpolicymaking, which has created weaknesses that deserve attention infuture policy efforts in order to improve biofuel systems.QC 20150401
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Pierk, Jochen. "Three essays on determinants of accounting choice." Doctoral thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.18452/17059.
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Die vorliegende Dissertation besteht aus drei empirischen Papieren, die verschiedene Anreize von Manager bezüglich einer Beeinflussung der Rechnungslegung untersuchen. Das erste Papier untersucht die Wechselwirkung von Produktmarktregulierung und Rechnungslegung. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Manager frühzeitig neue Rechnungslegungsregeln anwenden, um regulierte Preise in der Versorgungswirtschaft zu beeinflussen. Der zweite Teil der Dissertation befasst sich mit der Frage, inwieweit sich persönliche Eigenschaften von Managern (Selbstüberschätzung) in der Rechnungslegung widerspiegeln. Ihre Fähigkeiten überschätzende Manager haben zu hohe Erwartungen bezüglich der zukünftigen Zahlungsüberschüsse ihres Unternehmens. Das Papier zeigt, dass diese Manager bei Amtsantritt mit einer geringeren Wahrscheinlichkeit das Periodenergebnis negativ beeinflussen (Earnings bath). Das letzte Papier der Dissertation untersucht die Berichterstattung von Unternehmen, die an europäischen, börsenregulierten Aktienmärkten notiert sind. Insbesondere liegt der Fokus auf der freiwilligen Anwendung der International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) und der freiwilligen Veröffentlichung von Quartalsinformationen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Verkauf von Aktien an institutionelle Investoren zum Zeitpunkt des Börsengangs positiv mit der freiwilligen Anwendung der IFRS korreliert, jedoch nicht mit der freiwilligen Veröffentlichung von Quartalsinformationen.This cumulative doctoral thesis consists of three papers. Each part investigates empirically different aspects of the incentive structure of managers to influence the accounting outcome. The first paper examines the interplay of product market regulation and financial reporting. It shows that managers early adopt a new accounting regime if accounting numbers are used by regulators to set prices in utility industries. The second paper argues that reporting decisions of managers are influenced by personal characteristics (overconfidence). Overconfident managers overestimate their abilities and consequently have upwardly biased expectations concerning future firm cash flows. More specifically, the paper shows that overconfident CEOs are less likely to engage in an earnings bath at CEO turnover. The last paper investigates reporting choices of firms in European exchange-regulated markets. In particular, it sheds light on the voluntary adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and on the decision to voluntarily provide quarterly financial information. The findings indicate that the likelihood of voluntary IFRS adoption increases with the proportion of stocks sold to institutional investors upon IPO while the likelihood to provide quarterly information does not.
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Pennerstorfer, Astrid, and Dieter Pennerstorfer. "How small are small markets? Local market size for child care Services, Working Paper No. 1814." Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University of Linz, 2019. http://epub.wu.ac.at/7022/1/wp1814.pdf.
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In this article, we propose an innovative way of delineating local markets based on easily accessible data. We apply this concept to the day care industry and investigate providers' location choices relative to local market characteristics to evaluate the widespread presumption that local markets for child care services are geographically very small. Using a panel of all day care centers for the metropolitan region of Vienna, Austria, for nearly a decade, as well as geographically extremely disaggregated data on the spatial distribution of children under the age of six at the 250m×250m grid cell level, we find that the location of children and day care centers are strongly related, but this relationship diminishes as soon as the distance between a child's place of residence and the day care center's location increases. We conclude that local markets for day care services in metropolitan regions are indeed very small (about 500m or 550 yards).
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Johansson, Krafve Linus. "Valuation in Welfare Markets : The Rule Books, Whiteboards and Swivel Chairs of Care Choice Reform." Doctoral thesis, Linköpings universitet, Tema teknik och social förändring, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-117896.
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This thesis takes an interest in how values attain a specific meaning in market reforms of welfare provision. The study builds on exploring how values are enacted rather than treating them as universal and stable. The aim of the thesis is to contribute conceptually to the understanding of how market-making activities in the welfare state bureaucracy handle the values at play in welfare reform. The empirical case is the governance of a so-called care choice system in a Swedish county council. The methodology for the study is “shadowing” of public officials working to formulate a so-called rulebook for care centres. The analysis describes how these officials handle a variety of values when designing the rulebook. How they choose to organize their work – the methods used to collect data about care centre performance, what governance tools they employ, how they arrange their work roles, and how they construct the rulebook – leads to value shifts and determines the meaning of values in practice. The officials’ work practice is political in the sense that it actively shapes the values enacted in the care choice reform. Therefore, it is of great importance to spur a broader debate about the organization of such governance practices, while there is a need to problematize simplistic images of what market reforms of welfare entails in practice. The thesis proposes that an “ecological” – i.e. a situated, reflexive, and malleable – approach to handling of contending values may contribute to such debates.Avhandlingen intresserar sig för hur värden får sin praktiska innebörd i marknadsreformer av välfärdstjänster. Studien bygger på att undersöka hur värden blir lokalt iscensatta snarare än att behandla dem som universella och stabila. Syftet med studien är att utveckla begrepp för att förstå hur marknadsskapande styrning av välfärd hanterar de motstridiga värden som står på spel i välfärdsreform. Det empiriska fallet utgörs av styrningen av det s.k. vårdvalet i ett svenskt landsting. Metoden är ”skuggning” av tjänstemän som jobbar med att formulera en s.k. regelbok för vårdcentraler. Analysen beskriver hur dessa tjänstemän arbetar med att hantera olika typer av värden när de konstruerar regelboken. Hur de väljer att organisera sitt arbete – vilka metoder de använder för att samla in data om vårdcentralernas prestationer, vilka verktyg de använder för styrning, hur de ordnar sina arbetsroller, samt hur de konstruerar regelboken – leder till värdeförskjutningar och styr vilka uttryck de olika värdena får i praktiken. Tjänstemännens arbete är politiskt såtillvida att det aktivt formar de värden som får utrymme i vårdvalsreformen. Därför är det av stor vikt att skapa en bredare debatt kring organisering av sådan styrning, samtidigt som det kräver att man problematiserar förenklade bilder av vad marknadsreformer i välfärden betyder i praktiken. Avhandlingen föreslår att ett ”ekologiskt” – dvs. ett situerat, reflexivt och föränderligt – perspektiv på hanteringen av motstridiga värden i marknadsreformer kan bidra till en sådan debatt.
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Mathekgana, Khutso. "The relationship between brand loyalty and brand choice within the emerging markets of South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53154.
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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Brands, compnsing goods and services, serve to differentiate them from those of competitors. These have now proliferated to such an extent that it is difficult for brand owners to reach consumers and make their brands stand out. Brand loyalty has become one of the most frequently studied aspects of the purchasing process. It is thus defined through its measurements as the repeated purchase behaviour of one brand vis-á-vis other brands in the same category. The definition assumes a choice between two or more brands on the shelf. The objective of this project was to establish the presence of a direct relationship between brand loyalty and brand choice (or the lack thereof), in the emerging black markets of South Africa. The issue at hand is what happens in the absence of choice, i.e. the situation where there is only one brand per category. The second aspect to this is how do you measure brand loyalty in the absence of competition. The, outcome of the study clearly states that the choice that consumers are faced with in a particular market, lacks the dictionary meaning, In the absence of other brands in the same stable, loyalty has been found to exist because of the following: Brand being the first to market. Brand's superiority in terms of delivering on its promise, The presence of a strong advertising and promotions team to demonstrate its quality. Disposable incomes that are low and as such consumers' unwillingness to try other unknown brands, The lack of choice was described as a hostage situation, As long as the brand continues to deliver on quality, consumer choice will be deliberate and biased towards one brand. One very interesting other aspect to loyalty was that once it exists; it gets passed from one generation to the next. It becomes a family tradition,
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Handelsmerke onderskei produkte en dienste van hul mededingers. Die getal handelsmerke het nou tot so 'n mate toegeneem dat handelsmerkeienaars dit moeilik vind om verbruikers te bereik en hul handelsmerke duidelik van ander te onderskei. Handelsmerklojaliteit is een van die aspekte van die koopproses wat die meeste bestudeer word. Op grond van metingsprosedures word dit gedefinieer as 'herhaalde koopgedrag wat een handelsmerk bo ander handelsmerke in dieselfde kategorie bevoordeel'. Hierdie definisie veronderstel 'n keuse tussen twee of meer handelsmerke op dieselfde rak. Die doel van hierdie projek is om die direkte verwantskap tussen handelsmerklojaliteit en - keuse (of die gebrek daaraan) in die opkomende swart markte van Suid-Afrika te bepaal. Die eerste aspek van die ondersoek handel oor wat gebeur as verbruikers geen keuse het nie, m.a.w. as daar net een handelsmerk per kategorie op die rak is. Die tweede aspek handel oor die meting; van handelsmerklojaliteit as daar geen kompetisie van ander handelsmerke is nie. Die gevolgtrekkings van die studie illustreer duidelik dat die keuse wat verbruikers in 'n bepaalde mark het, nie aan 'n woordeboekdefinisie voldoen nie. Daar is ook bevind dat wanneer verbruikers nie 'n keuse van meer as een handelsmerk het nie, lojaliteit wel ontwikkel, om die volgende redes: Die handelsmerk was die eerste een wat in die mark beskikbaar was. Die betrokke handelsmerk doen sy beloftes beter gestand as ander handelsmerke. 'n Sterk advertensie- en promosiespan is teenwoordig om die kwaliteit van die handelsmerk te demonstreer. Die lae besteebare inkomste van verbruikers maak hulle onwillig om ander, onbekende handelsmerke te beproef Die gebrek aan keuse word beskryf as 'n "gyselaar"-situasie. Solank die handelsmerk aan die gehaltevereistes voldoen, sal verbruikers se keuse doelgerig daardie handelsmerk bevoordeel. Een van die interessantste aspekte van lojaliteit wat vorendag gekom het, is die volgende: as lojaliteit eers gevestig is, word dit van een generasie na die volgende oorgedra. So word dit dan 'n familietradisie.
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Whitehead, Peter Malcolm Scot. "On the choice and implementation of models for the pricing and hedging of interest rate contingent claims." Thesis, Imperial College London, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.325338.
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Sarama, Robert F. Jr. "Asset Pricing and Portfolio Choice in the Presence of Housing." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275434630.
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Ravindran, D. S. "Risk, store of wealth and land use choice : a socio-economic analysis of farmer adoption of woodlots in Karnataka, India." Thesis, Bangor University, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.389520.
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Tikhonova, Olesya. "Barriers to internationalization of SMEs in emerging markets : The impact of cultural constraints on the market entry choice of Swedish SMEs in Russia." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för ekonomi och företagande, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-16387.
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Internationalization is important for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) since it is a way to survive and to grow. Emerging markets have enormous latent possibilities for SMEs but behind the possibilities there are potential risks linked to political and institutional factors, uncertain economic and market conditions, and unknown business environments. National culture is one of the factors that create distance between home and host countries. In this paper, the author intends to examine the importance of cultural distance in the internationalization process and the relationship between the international experiences and cultural distance. The author focuses on the internationalization process of Swedish SMEs in Russia. Since culture is a complex phenomenon, the author scrutinizes the nature of cultural distance by employing a qualitative method by in-depth interviewing of managers from two Swedish SMEs. The theoretical framework is important for the analysis and consists of the Uppsala internationalization model and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Through the analysis of empirical data and previous research, the author finds that there are significant cultural differences between Russia and Sweden but the role of cultural distance in the internationalization process of the Swedish firms in Russia should not be exaggerated. The author’s conclusions are that cultural distance as a part of psychic distance has influence on the choice of entry mode though its impact is implicit and comes along with other factors. Another finding is that the international experiences of the firms have a great influence on the internationalization process - in the way that cultural distance becomes less important.
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McLeod, Mark Alexander. "Essays in Educational Economics and Industry Structure." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/28558.
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My dissertation contains two separate components. One part is a theoretical examination of the effect of ownership structure on format choice in the radio industry. I use a Hotelling type location model to study the effects of mergers in the radio industry. I find that common ownership of two radio stations results in format choices that are more similar than under competitive ownership, and also that the stations will advertise more if they are operated under common ownership. Welfare results are ambiguous, but there is evidence that total welfare might decrease as the result of a merger, with obvious policy implications for the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice who evaluate and regulate mergers in all industries.
The second component is an empirical study designed to assess the effectiveness of a mathematical tutorial that I authored in conjunction with colleagues in the Math department here at Virginia Tech. I taught four large sections of Principles of Macroeconomics in the spring and fall of 2001. Each class met on MWF; two sections at 8 AM, one at 10:10 AM, and one at 1:25 PM. I required one of the sections (8 AM Spring) to review the module and take a proficiency quiz to demonstrate their skill level in basic math that is used in the Economics Principles course. Final average in the course is the dependant variable in a regression designed to discover which variables have explanatory power in determining performance in introductory economics. Besides exposure to the math module, I include other independent variables describing class time, semester, demographics and effort. In addition, I collected qualitative information about the students' perceptions of the module's effectiveness and administration.
I find that exposure to the Math module does not have a significant effect on performance in the course. However, within the treatment group, there is a positive significant effect of time spent using the module on performance. Also, being registered for an 8 AM section has a significant negative effect. Overall, student comments indicate a dislike for the module. Students report that they prefer learning math skills through lectures by the professor and use of textbooks.Ph. D.
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DIAS, AUGUSTO CESAR ARENARO E. MELLO. "THE CHOICE OF ENTRY MODE IN FOREIGN MARKETS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH SUBSIDIARY PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM BRAZILIAN MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2012. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=19566@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROPesquisas anteriores abordaram de forma satisfatória duas decisões relacionadas ao modo de entrada no mercado externo: a escolha do nível de propriedade (subsidiária de controle integral ou joint-venture) e a escolha da forma de estabelecimento (aquisição ou investimento greenfield). Entretanto, uma terceira importante decisão, que se refere à escolha da atividade principal da subsidiária, tem sido praticamente ignorada pela literatura acadêmica. Com base em extensa revisão bibliográfica, este estudo incorpora a escolha do tipo de atividade (produção ou distribuição) entre as decisões específicas a serem tomadas pelas empresas quando o modo de entrada envolve a utilização de capital próprio e propõe um modelo conceitual eclético, original na sua formulação, no seu escopo e na organização de suas variáveis, para produzir uma visão inédita e abrangente sobre a escolha do modo de entrada no mercado externo e seu impacto no desempenho das subsidiárias das empresas multinacionais brasileiras. A partir de uma amostra com 280 subsidiárias operacionais sediadas em 39 países, os resultados obtidos indicam a existência de uma relação positiva e significante entre o desempenho das subsidiárias e o alinhamento do modo de entrada (nível de propriedade, forma de estabelecimento e tipo de atividade) ao modelo eclético, sugerindo que as subsidiárias cujos modos de entrada estão alinhados ao modelo tendem a apresentar, na média, desempenho superior ao daquelas cujos modos de entrada não estão alinhados ao modelo. Resultados adicionais dos testes empíricos também contribuem para um melhor entendimento sobre a atuação das empresas multinacionais brasileiras na arena internacional.
Previous research has satisfactorily addressed two decisions regarding the entry mode in foreign markets: the choice of ownership level (wholly-owned subsidiary or joint-venture) and the choice of establishment mode (acquisition or greenfield investment). However, a third important decision, which refers to the choice of the subsidiary’s main activity, has been virtually ignored by academic literature. Based on extensive literature review, this study incorporates the choice of activity type (production or distribution) into the specific decisions to be made by companies when the entry mode involves the use of equity and proposes an eclectic conceptual model, unique in its formulation, in its scope and in the organization of its variables, to produce a new and comprehensive view about the choice of entry mode in foreign markets and its impact on the performance of subsidiaries of Brazilian multinational enterprises. From a sample of 280 operating subsidiaries located in 39 countries, empirical results indicate the existence of a positive and significant relationship between subsidiaries performance and the alignment of the entry mode (ownership level, establishment mode and activity type) to the eclectic model, suggesting that subsidiaries whose entry modes are aligned with the model tend to outperform, on average, those whose entry modes are not aligned with the model. Additional results of the empirical tests also contribute to a better understanding of the operation of Brazilian multinational enterprises in the international arena.
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Helveston, John Paul. "Development and Adoption of Plug-in Electric Vehicles in China: Markets, Policy, and Innovation." Research Showcase @ CMU, 2016. http://repository.cmu.edu/dissertations/855.
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Sagebiel, Julian. "Valuing improvements in electricity supply using discrete choice experiments." Doctoral thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Lebenswissenschaftliche Fakultät, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.18452/17754.
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Um Strommärkte so zu konzipieren damit sie sowohl zur Verringerung der Nutzung fossiler Brennstoffe als auch zur Deckung des steigenden Energiebedarfes beitragen, ist Wissen über die Präferenzen der Konsumenten notwendig. Die vorliegende kumulative Dissertation untersucht Präferenzen für Elektrizitätsattribute von privaten Haushalten und trägt zu einem tieferen Verständnis dieser in unterschiedlichen Kontextsituationen bei. Der erste Artikel betrachtet statistische Methoden um die zwei am häufigsten angewandten Modelle – das Random Parameter Logit und das Latent Class Logit Modell – zu vergleichen. Der Artikel trägt dazu bei, den Prozess der Modellwahl zu verbessern und für die angewandte Forschung im Energiebereich anzupassen. Basierend auf den empirischen Ergebnissen des ersten Artikels untersucht der zweite Artikel die Präferenzen von privaten Haushalten in Hyderabad, Indien mit besonderem Fokus auf die physische Qualität der Energieversorgung. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf eine geringe Zahlungsbereitschaft der Konsumenten hin. Jedoch unterscheiden sich die Präferenzen der Haushalte. Die Artikel 3 und 4 basieren auf Datenerhebungen in Deutschland. Im dritten Artikel werden die Präferenzen privater Haushalte hinsichtlich der Organisationsform von Stromanbietern untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Kunden bereit sind mehr zu zahlen, wenn die Stromversorgung von Genossenschaften oder Stadtwerken übernommen wird. Der vierte Artikel betrachtet die Erfolgsfaktoren von Energiegenossenschaften in Deutschland. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Governance des Stromanbieters die Zahlungsbereitschaft für Strom beeinflussen. Insbesondere Genossenschaften werden den großen Privatunternehmen und Aktiengesellschaften vorgezogen.In order to design electricity markets to simultaneously reduce the share of fossil fuels in energy production and meet the increasing demand for electricity, knowledge on consumer preferences is necessary. The goal of this cumulative dissertation is to contribute to the understanding of preferences of private households for electricity supply attributes in different contexts. In Paper 1 I review statistical methods to compare two frequently applied models, the random parameters logit and the latent class logit. The methods presented here can be readily used by other researchers and practitioners to better understand model performance which ultimately contributes to improving model choice in applied energy research. Based on the empirical findings of Paper 1, Paper 2 identifies preferences of private households in Hyderabad in India for electricity supply quality. The results indicate that willingness to pay for improvements are, on average, rather low. However, the preferences strongly vary between subjects. Papers 3 and 4 investigate preferences of German private households. In \textbf{Paper 3}, the respondents stated their preferences for the organization of the electricity distribution company under different renewable energy scenarios. It turned out that most people are willing to pay more for electricity supplied by municipally-owned companies and cooperatives. This additional willingness to pay increases disproportionally when the share of renewable energy is high. The paper identifies non-profit orientated distribution companies as potential drivers of the energy transition. Paper 4 investigates the determinants for the success of energy cooperatives in Germany. The results indicate that the governance of distribution companies impacts the choices of private households for electricity supply contracts. Especially, people preferred cooperative-like governance attributes.
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Wu, Chi-Yin (Jenny). "Essays in empirical industrial organization." Diss., Kansas State University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/13678.
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Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Economics
Philip G. Gayle
This dissertation is composed of two essays in the field of Industrial Organization. Specifically, the empirical studies are conducted by focusing on the market structure and competition issues in the airline industry. The first essay investigates entry deterrence through incumbents’ pricing strategies in the airline industry. Recent research finds evidence that incumbent airlines tend to cut fares in response to the “threat” of entry by Southwest Airlines. Instead of focusing on the entry threat by a single carrier, this essay re-examines this issue by looking at incumbent airlines’ price response when entry is threatened by a wider variety of potential entrant airlines. Results show that incumbents’ response vary by the identity of the firm making the threat. As expected, incumbents cut fares in response to the threat of entry by some potential entrants; however, a new result is also found that incumbents may respond by raising their fare depending on who is making the threat. The second essay looks into an antitrust-relevant issue in the airline industry. Proper antitrust analysis often focuses on whether the concerned differentiated products are truly competing with each other. This essay uses a structural econometric model to investigate whether nonstop and connecting air travel products effectively compete with each other. Estimate results suggest that connecting products may be an attractive alternative to nonstop products for leisure travelers but less so for business travelers. If connecting products are counterfactually eliminated, the empirical model predicts small price changes for nonstop products. This suggests that the two product types only weakly compete with each other and can be treated as being in separate product markets for antitrust purposes.
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Lind, Pontus, Tobias Moberg, and Masood Panshiri. "Entry Mode Choice in Foreign Markets by MNEs : A Case Study of SKF’s HSB Project towards the Chinese Mining Industry." Thesis, Linnaeus University, Linnaeus School of Business and Economics, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-19452.
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Market strategy is a broad phenomenon which covers many aspects; market entry, market segmentation, market research etc. To conduct a research about the whole concept of market strategy within a thesis would take years. This research solely focused on market entry strategy were the problem arise as many large multinational enterprises do not enter foreign markets in respect to the market conditions, but focuses on maintaining their own business culture wherever they enter.This research brought up a case study about the multinational enterprise SKF and how they could expand one of their projects (hydrostatic shoe bearing) with a market entry strategy. In relation to how SKF handle business in foreign markets and in respect to the Chinese market; a suitable entry mode was in focus for the HSB project. The implications were obtained by semi-structured interviews at SKF headquarter in Gothenburg in order to understand SKF’s way of handling foreign business. For the Chinese mining industry semi-structured interviews and secondary data were the source of the data gathered.The findings revealed that SKF’s way of handing foreign investment is dependent upon the resource commitment in the project. Exporting is common for minor projects and Wholly Owned Subsidiary for major projects. The main focus is to keep the technology and know-how within the company. Regarding the Chinese mining industry, the high intensity of rivalry would demand high resource commitment by foreign companies in order to stay competitive with the constant development. Currently, SKF consider HSB as a minor project which implies that resource commitment into the project would be of low prioritization. Therefore a suitable entry mode in the Chinese mining industry for the HSB project would be to enter the market with Exporting. Exporting would allow SKF to keep the technology and know-how within the company and Export after the demand in the market.
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Weissbart, Christoph [Verfasser], and Karen [Akademischer Betreuer] Pittel. "Numerical frameworks for challenges to the transformation of power markets : technology choice, cooperation, model capability / Christoph Weissbart ; Betreuer: Karen Pittel." München : Universitätsbibliothek der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, 2019. http://d-nb.info/1193423252/34.
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Zhao, Jinlin. "The antecedent factors and entry mode choice of multinational lodging firms : the case of growth strategies into new international markets /." Diss., This resource online, 1994. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-10032007-171856/.
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Thor, Fredrik. "Grade Leniency and Competition : A study of Swedish Compulsory Level Municipality Schools." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Nationalekonomiska institutionen, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-415528.
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In Sweden, there has been an increased discrepancy between increasing merit ratings and decreasing results in international surveys such as PISA. At the same time, since the 1990s, Sweden has had several reforms that resulted in increased competition, decentralization and trust-based evaluations. Several studies have shown that grade leniency depends on school provider as well as level of competition between schools. This study focuses on how grade inflation in municipality schools for 9th graders is affected when an independent school is established nearby, using a fixed-effects model at the municipality level but with control variables at the individual level. I study all Swedish 9th graders between 2003-2017. An alternative specification with school fixed effects is also presented. I find that grades are set more leniently in competitive municipalities and that grade deviance is highly correlated with socio-economic factors. It is also concluded that the effect size is small in comparison to the average provider difference and individual level characteristics. The study extends the literature by focusing on grade inflation amongst municipality schools, and by focusing on the change in grade inflation rather than the average effect over time in terms of provider differences.
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Gomes, Mathieu. "Corporate social responsibility and capital markets : evidence from mergers and acquisitions." Thesis, Université Clermont Auvergne (2017-2020), 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017CLFAD020.
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Cette thèse se compose de trois essais empiriques qui étudient l'impact de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE) dans les opérations de fusions et acquisitions (F&A). Le premier chapitre traite de la relation entre la performance RSE des firmes et leur propension à faire l'objet d'offres de rachats. Nous constatons que la performance RSE des firmes est positivement liée à la probabilité qu'elles ont d'être ciblées dans le cadre d'opérations de F&A, et que la performance RSE des firmes ciblées est supérieure en moyenne à celle d'entreprises similaires mais non-ciblées. Dans le deuxième essai, nous nous intéressons à la relation entre la performance RSE des firmes ciblées dans le cadre d'opérations de F&A et la prime d’acquisition offerte par les acquéreurs. Nous constatons que la performance RSE des firmes ciblées est positivement liée à la prime d'acquisition offerte. Nous constatons que la prime d'acquisition est en partie expliquée par la performance environnementale et la performance sociale, mais que la performance sociale n’a d’impact que dans le cadre des opérations transfrontalières. Enfin, dans le troisième essai, nous analysons l'impact de la performance RSE des acquéreurs sur l'incertitude entourant les opérations de F&A. Nous trouvons une relation négative entre la performance RSE des acquéreurs et le spread d'arbitrage, suggérant que les opérations de F&A menées par des acquéreurs à forte performance RSE sont perçues comme ayant une probabilité accrue de réussite. Globalement, nos résultats suggèrent que la performance RSE détermine de manière statistiquement significative les décisions de F&A et leurs perceptions par les acteurs de marchéThis thesis consists of three empirical essays investigating the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In the first essay, we investigate whether the CSR performance of firms impacts their propensity to become M&A targets. We find that the CSR performance of firms is positively related to takeover likelihood. We also show that the CSR performance of target firms is higher on average than the CSR performance of comparable non-target firms. In the second essay, we study the relationship between M&A targets’ CSR performance and the acquisition premium offered by acquirers. We show that CSR is positively and significantly associated with the premium offered by acquirers. We also find that the premium is explained by the environmental and social performances of firms but that social performance only commands a premium in the case of cross-border transactions. Finally, in the third essay, we analyze the impact of acquirers' CSR performance on M&A deal uncertainty. We document a negative association between arbitrage spreads and acquirers' CSR performance, showing that deal uncertainty decreases when M&A operations are initiated by high-CSR acquirers. Overall, our results suggest that CSR performance is a significant determinant of M&A decisions and expected outcomes
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Srivastava, Prachi. "The business of schooling : the school choice processes, markets, and institutions governing low fee private schooling for disadvantaged groups in India." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2005. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:60eb2998-5fbb-4974-91d5-164b09f54535.
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This study is a multi-level analysis of the pervasive phenomenon of what is termed here as low-fee private (LFP) schooling in India focusing on Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The significance of the study is its focus on a private sector uniquely characterised as one targeted to a clientele traditionally excluded from private education. The study follows a single-case embedded case study research design of the type explained by Yin (1994). Its guiding framework comprises theoretical levels of analysis which are the individual, organisational, and institutional, corresponding to the case sub-units of household, school, and state respectively. The research design is structured through a new institutional paradigm which is also used to analyse results at the institutional level. Data were collected through interviews, observations, documents, and field notes. Direct household data sources were 60 parents/close family members at two focus schools (one urban and one rural); school sources were owners/principals of 10 case study schools (five urban and five rural); and state sources were 10 government officials. Analysis of the 100 formal interviews, informal interviews, observation events, and field notes followed a qualitative approach through an inductively derived analytic framework. Structured portions of household and school interviews were analysed through descriptive statistics providing data on household and school background characteristics. Documents were analysed using a modified content analysis approach. Implications of individual-level results lie in highlighting the schooling choices and patterns of a group that is otherwise regarded as homogenous, i.e. children are not sent to school because parents are uninterested in schooling and fail to see its relevance. In fact, results indicate that disadvantaged groups accessing the LFP sector in the study are active choosers who made deeply considered and systematic choices about their children's education. A model to explain their school choice processes is empirically derived. Data suggest that households employed the strategies of staying, fee-bargaining, exit, and fee-jumping to engage with LFP case study schools. Organisational-level results focus on case study school profiles, their organisational structures, and the strategies they employed to operate in the new schooling market. Results also focus on a qualitative understanding of the challenges case study schools faced as LFP schools, both by the institutional context and household demands. Finally, data point to the mechanisms instituted within the schools to deal with household needs and demands and the changing household-school relationship. The implications of institutional-level analysis He in exposing inconsistencies in the application of the formal institutional framework (FIF) for schooling to case study and other LFP schools by institutional actors. Differences in the FIF in principle and in practice are linked to perverse incentives embedded within it. The results strongly indicate the existence of what is termed here as, the shadow institutional framework (SIF), employed by case study schools to mediate the FIF to their institutional advantage. The SIF comprises internal institutions common across the set of case study schools, allowing them to form linkages with other LFP schools and exchange institutional information; and external institutions or higher order institutions governing how case study schools interacted with the FIF for basic and/or secondary education and private schooling. The SIF tied together an otherwise independent set of LFP schools as a de-facto sub-sector of the greater private sector. The study's main contributions are its analysis of an emerging local model of formal private schooling for disadvantaged groups; extending new institutional theory's application to education; and the methodological contribution of mediating the researcher's positionality through currencies.
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Taniguchi, Kyle Ken. "Work Trips on Public Transportation: An Analysis of Trends, Select Markets, and Users Using the National Household Travel Survey Series." Scholar Commons, 2012. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4411.
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Work trips are considered one of public transportation's biggest markets. It is important to understand this market as fully as possible because of the potential for congestion mitigation or air quality improvements, among other things. While much effort has been invested in researching travel on public transit, very little effort has been concentrated in understanding the work travel market. This document attempts to be a comprehensive resource which can provide current information on the persons and trips being taken on public transit for travel to/from work.
This research looks at the 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) to examine the difference between work and non-work transit trips and riders, choice and captive work trips and riders, and New York City (NYC) and non-NYC work trips and riders. In addition, transit mode share for work trips across an array of socio-demographic factors is examined. As a supplement, historical trend data utilizing past NHTS/Nationwide Personal Transportation Surveys (NPTS), the American Community Survey, and American Public Transportation Association data is used.
The data analysis is primarily descriptive in nature and is performed in SPSS (a statistical analysis software) and then graphed in Microsoft Excel. Interpretation of the results is based upon a comprehensive literature review and the author's knowledge and familiarity in the field of public transit.
There were several interesting and noteworthy findings uncovered during this research.
In the historical trend analysis, it was discovered that the proportion of transit trips being for travel to/from work has declined since 1983. Further analysis appears to indicate that the decline is being caused by new riders who are making new non-work trips. This comes as the existing work riders and trip numbers appear to be holding steady. More research is needed to confirm this finding and to probe for more specific reasons on why this is occurring.
In terms of work transit trips, it was discovered that they tend to be taken on faster modes (such as commuter rail and elevated/subway) resulting in slightly higher in-vehicle speeds than non-work transit trips (11.8 MPH versus 11.2 MPH). The analysis also showed that those commuting via non-transit modes were 20 percent more likely to make a stop on their commute than those that took transit. Of those commuting on transit, riders were more likely to make a stop on their way home from work rather than to work.
An analysis of choice and captive riders found that in the 16-24 year old age group, 85 percent of riders were choice riders. This finding could perhaps signify that more young adults are choosing to ride transit. However, this result should be interpreted with caution because of the small sample size and potential data issues with the 2009 NHTS dataset. More research should be carried out in the future to verify these results.
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Tijani, Chekib. "General factors associated with firms' perceptions and choice of foreign markets : implications for intra-Arab and south-south trade - the case of Tunisia." Thesis, Lancaster University, 1991. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.316613.
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Johansson, Emmie, and Carolinn Arneng. "Övergången mellan skola och arbete : En studie om den förlängda övergången för personer som av eget val haft flera olika sysselsättningsstatus samt vad de upplever som ett attraktivt arbete." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för samhällsstudier (SS), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-88099.
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Under de senaste åren har det blivit tydligt att de ungas övergång från skola till arbete, “school-to-work transition”, har förändrats. Det innebär att övergången idag är längre och mer komplex jämfört med tidigare. Samtidigt som en del har svårt att träda in på arbetsmarknaden finns det andra som har möjlighet att få anställningstrygghet men som själva väljer en längre övergång bestående av flera olika sysselsättningsstatus och arbeten. I denna studie har vi valt att fokusera på målgruppen som själva valt en längre övergång för att få en inblick i hur de upplever den förändrade övergången mellan skola och arbete. Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur övergången mellan skola och arbete skildras av personer som av eget val haft flera olika sysselsättningsstatus samt undersöka vad de upplever som ett attraktivt arbete. Vi har utifrån en kvalitativ metod intervjuat tio kvinnor 30–35 år för att ta del av deras berättelser. Studien har sökt svar på hur intervjupersonerna upplever sina erfarenheter och värderar sina val, vilka faktorer som har påverkat valen samt vad som är viktigt för att ett arbete ska upplevas som attraktivt. Det har resulterat i en fördjupning av valmöjligheter, upplevelser av övergången och attityder till arbete. Studiens resultat visar att målgruppens övergång till stor del har präglats av olika sysselsättningar, brytpunkter och val som påverkats av både inre och yttre faktorer. Respondenterna upplever att de själva har kunnat påverka sina val även om andra faktorer såsom; personer i omgivningen, utbildning- och arbetsmarknad, ekonomi, sjukdom, intressen och personliga egenskaper samt tidigare arbetslivs- och studieerfarenheter också har haft en påverkan.
Respondenterna har till stor del haft positiva upplevelser av övergången men även tuffare perioder med osäkerhet och tvivel har präglat deras övergång.
Trots att respondenterna upplevt intensiva perioder där de hoppat runt mellan flera olika sysselsättningsstatus kan de ändå blicka tillbaka och se en “röd tråd”. Viktiga faktorer för att trivas på en arbetsplats är kollegor, arbetsuppgifter och flexibilitet. Även bra chefer, ett gott ledarskap, god kommunikation och att visa uppskattning är av stor betydelse. Få av respondenterna upplever att de har nått sina yrkesmål trots att majoriteten av respondenterna idag arbetar med det yrke som de utbildat sig till.
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Le, Coq Chloé. "Quantity choices and market power in electricity markets." Doctoral thesis, Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, Samhällsekonomi (S), 2003. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hhs:diva-566.
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Competitive power markets from different countries exhibit a common market design, especially because of the nature of electricity (lack of storage, inelastic load, and strong seasonal effects on multiple time scales). For example, a majority of countries have created a spot market where electricity is traded hourly. The design of the spot markets reflected an ambition of providing strong incentives for efficient and least-cost production. Subsequently, the spot market price has been considered as a reference price for other existing electricity markets such as the contract market or the real-time market. However, empirical studies on electricity markets find some evidence of abnormally high markups. The literature on the electricity spot market mainly focuses on the producers' pricing decisions. The present thesis argues that quantity choices, both in terms of available as well as contracted quantities, are crucial for understanding market power in electricity markets.Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2003 [4], iii, [1] s., s. 1-6: sammanfattning, s. 7-119, [5] s.: 4 uppsatser
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Le, Coq Chloé. "Quantity choices and market power in electricity markets /." Stockholm : Economic Research Institute, Stockholm School of Economics (EFI), 2003. http://www.hhs.se/efi/summary/615.htm.
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Nawaz, Shamaila. "Sex and the city : gender gaps in labor markets and economic geography." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012AIXM1074.
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Cette thèse explore la dimension géographique des disparités entre les sexes dans le marché du travail. Les questions étudiées incluent la variation de la prime salariale urbaine entre les sexes (chapitre deux), l'exploration des différents mécanismes derrière les effets importants de la localisation géographique sur les gains du marché du travail des femmes (chapitre trois), et de l'écart entre les sexes sur les rendements d'expérience urbains (chapitre quatre). Le deuxième chapitre entreprend une analyse transversale à l'aide de données françaises pour estimer la prime salariale urbaine et sa variation entre les sexes. Les résultats confirment l'existence d'une prime salariale urbaine nettement supérieure pour les femmes. Un doublement de la densité de l'emploi dans une zone donnée entraîne une réduction de 2,4 pourcent de l'écart salarial entre les sexes, une valeur qui augmente de 4 pourcent lorsqu'on exclut la catégorie professionnelle des ouvriers. Contrairement au reste des professions, l'effet de la densité favorise les hommes dans la catégorie des ouvriers. Le troisième chapitre cherche à trouver les mécanismes à l'origine de l'effet importante de la localisation géographique sur les gains du marché du travail pour les femmes en employant l'approche par l'estimateur « within ». Les résultats suggèrent que la moitié de la prime salariale urbaine est attribuée sur la base d'un tri des travailleurs selon le type de compétences à travers des différentes zones. Cependant, en complément du tri de compétences, d'autres hétérogénéités individuelles contribuent également à l'excès de la prime salariale urbaine pour les femmesThis dissertation explores the geographical dimension of the gender gaps in the labor market. The investigated issues include the variation of urban wage premium across genders (chapter two), exploration of different mechanisms behind stronger location effects for females' labor market gains (chapter three), and the gender gap in the urban returns to experience (chapter four). The second chapter undertakes a cross-sectional analysis by using French data to estimate the urban wage premium and its variation across genders. The findings confirm the existence of an urban wage premium that is significantly higher for women. A twofold increase in employment density of an area results in a 2.4 percent reduction in the gender wage gap, which increases to 4 percent when we exclude manual workers occupational category. Contrary to the rest of the occupations, the density effect favors men in the manual workers category. The third chapter seeks to find the mechanisms behind the stronger location effects on labor market gains for women by employing the within estimate approach. Results suggest that half of the urban wage premium is contributed by the sorting of workers according to skill type across different areas. However, in addition to skill sorting other individual heterogeneities also contribute to the excess urban wage premium for females. Firm level agglomeration effects attribute a minor part to the excess urban wage premium for females. The left over premium is a result of pure urban effects (lower discrimination, better matching, urban amenities)
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Debove, Stéphane. "The evolutionary origins of human fairness." Thesis, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015PA05T040/document.
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L'Homme attache de l'importance à l'équité et est prêt à aller jusqu'à subir des pertes financières pour la défense de l'équité. Cet attachement coûteux à l'équité constitue un paradoxe pour les théories de l'évolution. Récemment, certains auteurs ont proposé de voir le sens de l'équité comme une adaptation psychologique évoluée pour résoudre le problème du partage des coûts et bénéfices de la coopération. Quand il est possible de choisir avec qui coopérer, partager les coûts et bénéfices d'une manière impartiale aide à être choisi comme partenaire social et procure des bénéfices directs en terme de valeur sélective. Dans cette théorie, le choix du partenaire est donc le mécanisme central permettant l'évolution du sens de l'équité. Ici, nous proposons une étude interdisciplinaire de l'équité pour mettre cette théorie à l'épreuve. Après une revue des théories en compétition pour expliquer l'équité (Article 1, en cours de revue), nous développons des modèles de théorie des jeux et des simulations individu-centrées pour savoir si le choix du partenaire permet d'expliquer deux éléments-clés de l'équité: le refus de profiter de sa force pour exploiter les plus faibles (Article 2, Evolution), et l'attrait des distributions dans lesquelles la rétribution est proportionnelle à la contribution (Article 3, en cours de revue). Nous montrons que le choix du partenaire permet d'expliquer ces deux caractéristiques. Nous produisons également des simulations plus réalistes et prenant mieux en compte les mécanismes d'évolution en essayant de faire évoluer des robots qui se comportent de manière équitable. Nous testons ensuite la théorie de façon empirique, et montrons que le choix du partenaire crée des distributions équitables dans une expérience comportementale (Article 4, Proceedings of the Royal Society B). Nous développons un jeu vidéo collaboratif pour estimer l'importance de la variabilité interculturelle de l'équité dans des situations de justice distributive, et présentons des résultats obtenus sur un échantillon de sujets occidentaux (Article 5, en préparation). Nous passons en revue les expériences cherchant de l'équité chez les animaux non-humains, et discutons pourquoi un sens de l'équité aurait eu plus de chances de se développer chez l'Homme que dans une autre espèce, alors que le choix du partenaire est loin d'être un mécanisme évolutionnaire restreint à l'Homme. Enfin, nous discutons trois malentendus classiques sur la théorie du choix du partenaire et identifions des directions de recherche intéressantes pour le futurHumans care about fairness and are ready to suffer financial losses for the sake of it. The existence of such costly preferences for fairness constitutes an evolutionary puzzle. Recently, some authors have argued that human fairness can be understood as a psychological adaptation evolved to solve the problem of sharing the costs and benefits of cooperation. When people can choose with whom they want to cooperate, sharing the costs and benefits in an impartial way helps to be chosen as a partner and brings direct fitness benefits. In this theory, partner choice is thus the central mechanism allowing the evolution of fairness. Here, we offer an interdisciplinary study of fairness to put this theory to the test. After a review of competing theories (Paper 1, in review), we build game-theoretical models and agent-based simulations to investigate whether partner choice can explain two key aspects of human fairness: the wrongness to take advantage of one's strength to exploit weaker people (Paper 2, Evolution), and the appeal of distributions where the reward is proportional to the contribution (Paper 3, in review). We show that partner choice succeeds at explaining these two characteristics. We also go towards more realistic and mechanism-oriented simulations by trying to evolve fair robots controlled by simple neural networks. We then test the theory empirically, and show that partner choice creates fairness in a behavioral experiment (Paper 4, Proceedings of the Royal Society B). We develop a collaborative video game to assess the cross-cultural variation of fairness in distributive situations, and present results coming from a Western sample (Paper 5, in preparation). We review the experiments looking for fairness in non-human animals, and discuss why fairness would have been more prone to evolve in humans than in any other species, despite partner choice being an evolutionary mechanism far from restricted to the human species. Finally, we discuss three common misunderstandings about the partner choice theory and identify interesting directions for future research
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Gould, Richard Robert, and RichardGould@ozemail com au. "International market selection-screening technique: replacing intuition with a multidimensional framework to select a short-list of countries." RMIT University. Social Science & Planning, 2002. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20081125.145312.
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The object of this research was to develop an international market screening methodology which selects highly attractive markets, allowing for the ranges in diversity amongst organisations, countries and products. Conventional business thought is that, every two to five years, dynamic organisations which conduct business internationally should decide which additional foreign market or markets to next enter. If they are internationally inexperienced, this will be their first market; if they are experienced, it might be, say, their 100th market. How should each organisation select their next international market? One previous attempt has been made to quantitatively test which decision variables, and what weights, should be used when choosing between the 230 countries of the world. The literature indicate that a well-informed selection decision could consider over 150 variables that measure aspects of each foreign market's economic, political, legal, cultural, technical and physical environments. Additionally, attributes of the organisation have not been considered when selecting the most attractive short-list of markets. The findings presented in the dissertation are that 30 criteria accounted for 95 per cent of variance at cross-classification rates of 95 per cent. The weights of each variable, and the markets selected statistically as being the most attractive, were found to vary with the capabilities, goals and values of the organisation. This frequently means that different countries will be best for different organisations selling the same product. A
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Gunnervald, Kim, and Edvin Larsson. "Primärvårdspatienter på akutmottagningar." Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Akademin för vård, arbetsliv och välfärd, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-3291.
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I denna uppsats undersöks om akutmottagningarnas långa väntetider kan bero på att olämpliga teorier appliceras på vårdmarknaden. Det undersöks med en fallstudie av hälso- och sjukvården i Västra Götaland där vi har genomfört semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem anställda i kanslierna som ansvarar för att ge politikerna information till sjukvårdsbeslut och för att stödja politikerna i styrandet av hälso- och sjukvården. Det är en kvalitativ studie med en abduktiv ansats.Vår empiri indikerar att en stor orsak till akutmottagningarnas långa väntetider är att de har ett inflöde av patienter med relativt milda symptom som kunde ha omhändertagits inom primärvården. Förklaringar till det är att klienterna ofta har bristfällig kunskap om lämpliga vårdenheter och ofta antar att de får bättre vård på akutmottagningar än inom primärvården. Många av de patienter på akutmottagningarna som kommit till olämplig vårdenhet är äldre och kroniskt sjuka.Den här studien indikerar att olämpliga teorier har applicerats på Västra Götalands vårdmarknad. Inspirationen till vårdmarknaden tycks till stor del härstamma från traditionella nationalekonomiska teorier. Vi anser dock att de är olämpliga på Västra Götalands vårdmarknad på grund av bristande utbud, bristande konkurrens, irrationella klienter och risker för missgynnanden. Vi föreslår istället ett större fokus på sociologiska marknadsteorier.Den här studien begränsas av det relativt låga antalet intervjusubjekt. Vi har dock hittat tecken i vår empiri på ett samband mellan missgynnade klienter inom primärvården och det ökade inflödet till akutmottagningarna. Vår förhoppning är att detta kan bidra med uppslag till framtida, mer omfattande undersökningar.This paper addresses long waiting times in Swedish emergency units by examining if appropriate theories are applied to the healthcare sector. This is examined with a case study of the healthcare sector in Västra Götaland County where we have conducted semi-structured interviews with five members of the staff responsible for providing the county’s politicians with information for healthcare decisions as well as supporting the politicians in managing the healthcare sector. It is a qualitative study with an abductive approach.The findings from our empirical research indicate that one major reason for the emergency units’ long waiting times is that they have an influx of patients with relatively mild illnesses that could have been handled in the primary care. Explanations for that are that clients often are ill-informed and often expect to get better care at emergency units than in the primary care. Many of the emergency units’ misplaced patients are elderly and chronically ill.This study indicates that inappropriate theories have been applied to the healthcare sector in Västra Götaland County. The inspiration for the healthcare sector seems to be from traditional economics to a large extent. We conclude, however, that traditional economics is inappropriate on the healthcare sector in Västra Götaland County because of the lacking supply, lacking competition, irrational clients and risk for disadvantages. Instead, we suggest a higher focus on sociological market theories.This study is limited by the relatively low amount of interview subjects. We have, however, found indications in our empirical material for a connection between disadvantaged clients in the primary care and the increased influx to the emergency units. We hope that this could provide ideas for future and more elaborate studies.This paper is written in Swedish.
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Overton, Michael R. "Explaining Economic Development Strategies Using Product Differentiation Theory: a Reconceptualization of Competition Among City Governments." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2015. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc801942/.
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Local governments do not operate in a vacuum. Instead, they are part of a complex “polycentric” system of governments where politically autonomous and self-ruled cities compete with one another over taxable wealth. Missing from the scholarship on metropolitan governance is an understanding of the factors driving competition among local governments. The purpose of this dissertation is to fill this gap by examining how interjurisdictional competition over economic development impacts a city’s choice of strategies for attracting business and residential investment and how those strategies affect revenue collection. First, this dissertation examines whether cities, knowing the economic development strategies of their neighboring cities, pursue similar types of businesses? Or do cities strategically target different types of businesses as a way to avoid the negative consequences of competition? Second, this dissertation explores what impact the decision to pursue similar or dissimilar businesses has on the revenue collection of local governments. Using spatial data analysis to analyze a sample of 2,299 cities, this dissertation finds general support for both theoretical frameworks presented. Overall, the findings from both analyses provide unique insights into metropolitan governance and interjurisdictional competition.
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Jones, Angela Cherie Passero. "Enrollment and Disenrollment in Voluntary Prekindergarten: A Study of Educational Leaders’ Decision-Making." Scholar Commons, 2018. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/7175.
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This qualitative case study focused on how school leaders’ understandings of (dis)ability were implicated in decision-making and affected student (dis)enrollment in Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Program (VPK). More specifically it explored how leaders in private VPK programs invoked conceptions of normality, and subsequently abnormality, during decision-making processes for student (dis)enrollment. Combining a critical poststructuralist approach (critical disability studies, critical policy analysis), decision-making on (dis)enrollment was contextualized within the current policy ecology. This policy ecology was framed as an historical development of policies regarding preschool for children with and without disabilities in a marketplace shaped by the convergence of federal, state, and local policy, which tended to be based on deficit-oriented perspectives of disability that functioned to (re)constructed what was understood as (dis)ability.
Further, findings focused on how policy, market, and VPK leaders’ understanding of (dis)ability influenced decision-making rationales and outcomes affecting (dis)enrolled students. Findings indicated their sense of identity impacted their interpretation of and reaction to program polices, local market pressures and their construction of the “good consumer”—a parent/child dyad prepared for rigor and the exhibition of self-control. Reciprocity emerged as a theme and suggested good consumers reinforced VPK leaders’ desired identity. In addition, VPK leaders’ justified enrollment and disenrollment decisions within a continuum of exchanges that occurred between consumers and themselves. Leaders who embraced service or spiritual based leadership practices tended to be more inclusive of children with diverse needs.
Implications for future research should address 1) how VPK leaders include children with a range of abilities in their (pre)schools, 2) examine parents’ decision-making practices about their child’s (dis)enrollment in VPK centers, 3) policy clarification at the intersection of IDEA, ADA, and VPK, and 4) explore how local education agencies and private preschools can build infrastructure to support the inclusion of children with diverse learning needs in VPK centers. Such research can shed light on the complexity of decision-making with respect to enrollment for publicly-funded voucher programs on the private VPK market and how those decisions function to (re)shape discourses of normality in early childhood.
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Lees, Gavin. "Are radio markets Dirichlet? A study into the NBD/Dirichlet, its empirical generalisations and their extension to radio listening patterns : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marketing at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1149.
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The well recognised and parsimonious Dirichlet model of buyer behaviour (Goodhardt, Ehrenberg and Chatfield 1984) has summarised a number of empirical generalisations about market structures and buyer behaviour. These generalisations have been described by Sharp, Wright and Goodhardt (2002) as: Differences in market share can be attributed largely to differences in market penetration A double jeopardy pattern emerges, with smaller brands having a lower average purchase frequency, share of category requirements, and proportion of sole buyers A brand’s customers buy from other brands more frequently Sole buyers tend to be very rare, and are also very light buyers Heavy buyers buy more brands and are very unlikely to be sole buyers Brands share their customers in proportion to their market share (Duplication of Purchase Law). Of these empirical generalisations, double jeopardy, polygamous loyalty and the duplication of purchase law are amongst the better known. They have been observed across an increasing number of product categories, countries and differing market conditions. This thesis considers whether the Dirichlet and its accompanying empirical generalisations also hold true for radio markets. Whilst Goodhardt, Ehrenberg and Collins (1975) and Barwise and Ehrenberg (1988) have considered television and its audiences there has been very little study into radio audience patterns. Perhaps this is because many researchers consider radio to be more like television than any other media. However, Lees (2003, 2006) has started to address the issues of radio market structures and radio audience patterns. This thesis adopts an empirical generalist approach showing the Dirichlet model of consumer behaviour and its associated empirical generalizations appear to apply to radio markets in that they: Show a high correlation between market share and the brand performance measures of: cumulative audience, average time spent listening, share of category requirements and exclusive audience Reflect the double jeopardy pattern with those stations that have a higher market share also having a higher penetration or cumulative audience and a higher average weekly time spent listening. Conversely those stations with a low market share having a lower cumulative audience and a lower average weekly time spent listening Show audience duplication between radio stations that varies according to each stations’ market cumulative audience, in accordance with the Duplication of Purchase Law Have the percentage of listeners loyal to one radio station reflecting the Dirichlet’s expectation of low exclusive audience. These exclusive listeners also reflect a double jeopardy pattern with the bigger stations having more exclusive listeners than the smaller stations. The most compelling result of this thesis is the apparent ability of the Dirichlet to describe a radio market place. Thus has managerial implications – especially to what extent a manager should take the patterns as ‘normal’ or seek to ‘buck the trend’. The conclusion is that radio station managers need to carefully manage their station working with the market rather than trying to ‘buck the trend’. This is likely to involve station managers actively promoting their stations to ensure that their station remains salient to its current listeners while also trying to increase its awareness amongst non listeners. This thesis has also made several contributions to knowledge about the Dirichlet. First, it has extended knowledge about the model to a new area – that of radio listening. Second, it has shown that while some radio listening seemingly violates some of the assumptions behind the model it is still robust enough to account for variations in multivariate count data in a manner that is parsimonious. Third, it has confirmed the known boundary condition that the Dirichlet does under-predict sole loyal purchase frequency. This thesis also calls for further research into both the Dirichlet model with further extensions to differentiated product categories; and into the question of radio audience measurement. It calls for the New Zealand Radio Broadcasters Association to commission a report into the effect of introducing portable people meters as a form of audience measurement.
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Cui, Fan. "Market access and the choice of market entry mode." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.434324.
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Borghans, Alexander Hubertus. "Educational choice and labour market information." Maastricht : Maastricht : Researchcentrum voor Onderwijs en Arbeidsmarkt ; University Library, Maastricht University [Host], 1993. http://arno.unimaas.nl/show.cgi?fid=6669.
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