Følg med i CBS’ nye forskningsudgivelser / September
01/09/2020
Foto: Bjake MacCarthy
Er du journalist, forsker eller simpelthen bare interesseret i videnskabelige artikler om business og kultur?
Så skriv dig op til denne forskningsoversigt, hvor du får overblik over de nyeste forskningspublikationer på CBS for den seneste måned – direkte i din indbakke.
Vi har ikke gennemtygget det, så du får det i et råt format, hvor du selv skal læse videre eller kontakte forskeren bag for yderligere information.
De videnskabelige artikler er peer-reviewed, dvs. de har været igennem flere uvildige forskere, der har anerkendt og godkendt resultater og fremgangsmåde.
HER ER DENNE MÅNEDS PEER-REVIEWED FORSKNING (PÅ ENGELSK) – GOD LÆSELYST!
Tryk på overskrift for at læse abstract.
Fact and Fiction about Low-Risk Investing
ABSTRACT: Low-risk investing within equities and other asset classes has received a lot of attention over the past decade. An intensive academic debate has spurred, and been spurred by, the growing market for low-risk strategies. This article presAênts five facts and dispels five fictions about low-risk investing. The facts are as follows: Low-risk returns have been (1) strong historically, (2) highly significant out-of-sample, (3) robust across many countries and asset classes, and (4) backed by strong economic theory but, nevertheless, (5) can be negaÂtive when the market is down. The fictions this article dispels are that low-risk investing (1) delivers weaker returns than other common factor premiums, (2) is mostly about betting on bond-like industries, (3) is especially sensitive to transaction costs and only works among small-cap stocks, and (4) has become so expensive that it cannot do well going forward. Lastly, the article dispels the fiction that (5) the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is dead and so is low-risk investing-this statement is a contradiction. If the CAPM is dead, then low-risk investing is alive.
ABSTRACT: Low-risk investing within equities and other asset classes has received a lot of attention over the past decade. An intensive academic debate has spurred, and been spurred by, the growing market for low-risk strategies. This article presAênts five facts and dispels five fictions about low-risk investing. The facts are as follows: Low-risk returns have been (1) strong historically, (2) highly significant out-of-sample, (3) robust across many countries and asset classes, and (4) backed by strong economic theory but, nevertheless, (5) can be negaÂtive when the market is down. The fictions this article dispels are that low-risk investing (1) delivers weaker returns than other common factor premiums, (2) is mostly about betting on bond-like industries, (3) is especially sensitive to transaction costs and only works among small-cap stocks, and (4) has become so expensive that it cannot do well going forward. Lastly, the article dispels the fiction that (5) the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is dead and so is low-risk investing-this statement is a contradiction. If the CAPM is dead, then low-risk investing is alive.
Journal: Journal of Portfolio Management
Published: June 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Lasse Heje Pedersen
The Open Innovation in Science Research Field: A Collaborative Conceptualisation Approach
ABSTRACT: Openness and collaboration in scientific research are attracting increasing attention from scholars and practitioners alike. However, a common understanding of these phenomena is hindered by disciplinary boundaries and disconnected research streams. We link dispersed knowledge on Open Innovation, Open Science, and related concepts such as Responsible Research and Innovation by proposing a unifying Open Innovation in Science (OIS) Research Framework. This framework captures the antecedents, contingencies, and consequences of open and collaborative practices along the entire process of generating and disseminating scientific insights and translating them into innovation. Moreover, it elucidates individual-, team-, organisation-, field-, and society‐level factors shaping OIS practices. To conceptualise the framework, we employed a collaborative approach involving 47 scholars from multiple disciplines, highlighting both tensions and commonalities between existing approaches. The OIS Research Framework thus serves as a basis for future research, informs policy discussions, and provides guidance to scientists and practitioners.
ABSTRACT: Openness and collaboration in scientific research are attracting increasing attention from scholars and practitioners alike. However, a common understanding of these phenomena is hindered by disciplinary boundaries and disconnected research streams. We link dispersed knowledge on Open Innovation, Open Science, and related concepts such as Responsible Research and Innovation by proposing a unifying Open Innovation in Science (OIS) Research Framework. This framework captures the antecedents, contingencies, and consequences of open and collaborative practices along the entire process of generating and disseminating scientific insights and translating them into innovation. Moreover, it elucidates individual-, team-, organisation-, field-, and society‐level factors shaping OIS practices. To conceptualise the framework, we employed a collaborative approach involving 47 scholars from multiple disciplines, highlighting both tensions and commonalities between existing approaches. The OIS Research Framework thus serves as a basis for future research, informs policy discussions, and provides guidance to scientists and practitioners.
Journal: Industry and Innovation
Published: August 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Susanne Beck, Tiare Brasseur and Christoph Grimpe
Anticipating the End: Exploring Future-oriented Sensemaking of Change through Metaphors
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to explore whether there is a link between retrospective and prospective sensemaking by analyzing metaphors of past and potential future changes.
Design/methodology/approach: The article draws on interview data from employees, team managers and middle managers at an IT department of a Nordic bank.
Findings: The study found that organizational members' sensemaking of changes in the past were characterized by trivializing metaphors. In contrast, future-oriented sensemaking of potential changes were characterized by emotionally charged metaphors of uncertainty, war and the End, indicating that the organizational members anticipating a gloomier future.
Research limitations/implications: These findings might be limited to the organizational context of an IT department of a bank with IT professionals having an urge for control and sharing a history of a financial sector changing dramatically the last decade.
Originality/value: This article contributes to the emerging field of future-oriented sensemaking by showing what characterize past and future-oriented sensemaking of changes at a bank. Further, the paper contributes with an empirical study unpacking how organizational members anticipate an undesired future which might not be grounded in retrospective sensemaking.
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to explore whether there is a link between retrospective and prospective sensemaking by analyzing metaphors of past and potential future changes.
Design/methodology/approach: The article draws on interview data from employees, team managers and middle managers at an IT department of a Nordic bank.
Findings: The study found that organizational members' sensemaking of changes in the past were characterized by trivializing metaphors. In contrast, future-oriented sensemaking of potential changes were characterized by emotionally charged metaphors of uncertainty, war and the End, indicating that the organizational members anticipating a gloomier future.
Research limitations/implications: These findings might be limited to the organizational context of an IT department of a bank with IT professionals having an urge for control and sharing a history of a financial sector changing dramatically the last decade.
Originality/value: This article contributes to the emerging field of future-oriented sensemaking by showing what characterize past and future-oriented sensemaking of changes at a bank. Further, the paper contributes with an empirical study unpacking how organizational members anticipate an undesired future which might not be grounded in retrospective sensemaking.
Journal: Journal of Organizational Change Management
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Elisabeth Naima Mikkelsen
Projektledelse: Et praksisområde i bevægelse
ABSTRACT: Projektledelse har gennemgået en forandring i de senere år. Fra at være fokuseret på kalkuler, estimater, rationel planlægning og formelle or- ganiseringer og strukturer er feltet blevet beriget med indsigter fra nyere organisationsteori (f.eks. løst koblede organisationer), en højere grad af fo- kus på selvstændig teoriudvikling (f.eks. omkring temporære organisationer) og fra erkendelser i praksis (f.eks. erkendelsen af begrænsninger i vandfaldsmodeller og Det Agile Manifest)
ABSTRACT: Projektledelse har gennemgået en forandring i de senere år. Fra at være fokuseret på kalkuler, estimater, rationel planlægning og formelle or- ganiseringer og strukturer er feltet blevet beriget med indsigter fra nyere organisationsteori (f.eks. løst koblede organisationer), en højere grad af fo- kus på selvstændig teoriudvikling (f.eks. omkring temporære organisationer) og fra erkendelser i praksis (f.eks. erkendelsen af begrænsninger i vandfaldsmodeller og Det Agile Manifest)
Journal: Effektivitet
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: John K. Christiansen
Construal Level Effects in Sponsorship-linked Marketing: Informativeness and Timing of Announcements
ABSTRACT: Although prior research examined sponsorship announcements, differences in abstraction and when sponsorships are announced have been neglected. Based on Construal Level Theory, the effects of sponsorship announcement informativeness (abstract/concrete), personal level of construal (PLC; high/low), and temporal distance (proximate/distant) are investigated here in two experiments. Contrary to previous advertising research, results show that matching announcement informativeness with associated construal level or temporal distance is suboptimal. Instead, sponsors and sponsored properties should provide concrete informativeness regardless of temporal distance or consumers’ PLC. Concrete informativeness enhances attitude and purchase intent for consumers with high PLC and for distant events.
ABSTRACT: Although prior research examined sponsorship announcements, differences in abstraction and when sponsorships are announced have been neglected. Based on Construal Level Theory, the effects of sponsorship announcement informativeness (abstract/concrete), personal level of construal (PLC; high/low), and temporal distance (proximate/distant) are investigated here in two experiments. Contrary to previous advertising research, results show that matching announcement informativeness with associated construal level or temporal distance is suboptimal. Instead, sponsors and sponsored properties should provide concrete informativeness regardless of temporal distance or consumers’ PLC. Concrete informativeness enhances attitude and purchase intent for consumers with high PLC and for distant events.
Journal: Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice
Published: June 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Tobias Schaefers
‘Be a Model, Not a Critic’: Self-help Culture, Implicit Censorship and the Silent Organization
ABSTRACT: This article seeks to explain ‘silent organizations’ (i.e. organizations with an absence of critical voices) through an analytical perspective derived from Judith Butler’s work on censorship, and in this way suggest an alternative to explanations in the existing literature on employee silence, which are often tied to the actions and motivations of the individual employee. It is thus argued that self-help books are reflective of wider cultural dynamics and concomitant normative pressures directed at the subject in contemporary capitalism, which among other things promote the absence of criticism in the workplace. The empirical point of departure for this argument is the two bestselling and culturally resonant self-help books The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Theoretically, the article applies Butler’s notion of ‘implicit censorship’ where censorship is understood as productive in the sense of being constitutive of language and subjects. Hence, in the analysis, it is shown how discursive regimes in self-help literature tend to be constructed in such a way that extroverted criticism cannot emerge as a meaningful activity, and is thus implicitly censored.
ABSTRACT: This article seeks to explain ‘silent organizations’ (i.e. organizations with an absence of critical voices) through an analytical perspective derived from Judith Butler’s work on censorship, and in this way suggest an alternative to explanations in the existing literature on employee silence, which are often tied to the actions and motivations of the individual employee. It is thus argued that self-help books are reflective of wider cultural dynamics and concomitant normative pressures directed at the subject in contemporary capitalism, which among other things promote the absence of criticism in the workplace. The empirical point of departure for this argument is the two bestselling and culturally resonant self-help books The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Theoretically, the article applies Butler’s notion of ‘implicit censorship’ where censorship is understood as productive in the sense of being constitutive of language and subjects. Hence, in the analysis, it is shown how discursive regimes in self-help literature tend to be constructed in such a way that extroverted criticism cannot emerge as a meaningful activity, and is thus implicitly censored.
Journal: Organization
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Erik Mygind du Plessis
S(t)imulating Resistance: Corporate Responses to the Trump Presidency
ABSTRACT: This article contributes to the emergent field of corporate activism by exploring how corporate advertising voices, or is interpreted by the media as voicing, Trump resistance – that is, sympathy with anti-Trump protests and dismay at the politics of the White House incumbent. In so doing, we first situate corporate activism in relation to the more established fields of political corporate social responsibility and corporate social responsibility communication, focusing on discussions concerning the interplay between talk and action as well as the potential of talk to lead to action. On this basis, we propose a conceptual framework that posits talk and action as operating conjointly on the ontological plane of s(t)imulation, a conceptual conjunction of simulation and stimulation that is inspired by Baudrillard’s notion of the simulacrum. Empirically, we conduct a qualitative analysis of 20 examples of corporate advertising that has been reported as anti-Trump in the media. We find that the advertising in our sample is characterized by the following three main distinctions: (1) humorous references to Trump, (2) favourable and highly emotional appeals to social justice and (3) dystopian visions of society. We argue that a postmodern perspective on signs and representation may not only nuance our understanding of corporate activism, but also contribute to the conceptualization of the phenomenon by pushing the explanatory framework beyond the dialectic of talk and action.
ABSTRACT: This article contributes to the emergent field of corporate activism by exploring how corporate advertising voices, or is interpreted by the media as voicing, Trump resistance – that is, sympathy with anti-Trump protests and dismay at the politics of the White House incumbent. In so doing, we first situate corporate activism in relation to the more established fields of political corporate social responsibility and corporate social responsibility communication, focusing on discussions concerning the interplay between talk and action as well as the potential of talk to lead to action. On this basis, we propose a conceptual framework that posits talk and action as operating conjointly on the ontological plane of s(t)imulation, a conceptual conjunction of simulation and stimulation that is inspired by Baudrillard’s notion of the simulacrum. Empirically, we conduct a qualitative analysis of 20 examples of corporate advertising that has been reported as anti-Trump in the media. We find that the advertising in our sample is characterized by the following three main distinctions: (1) humorous references to Trump, (2) favourable and highly emotional appeals to social justice and (3) dystopian visions of society. We argue that a postmodern perspective on signs and representation may not only nuance our understanding of corporate activism, but also contribute to the conceptualization of the phenomenon by pushing the explanatory framework beyond the dialectic of talk and action.
Journal: Organization
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Julie Uldam, Sine Nørholm Just
Managing the Challenges of Business-to-Business Open Innovation in Complex Projects: A Multi-stage Process Model
ABSTRACT: Research shows that knowledge sharing and system integration are two major challenges posed by openness to business partners in complex innovation projects. However, there remains limited research on the microfoundations (i.e., actions and practices) underpinning the organizational capabilities required to address these challenges. Drawing on a case study of a pioneering electric vehicle manufacturer, we develop a multi-stage process model showing how these capabilities are developed and phased out in terms of the organizational principles (e.g., hierarchical product architecture) and actions and practices (e.g., sharing knowledge by deputing staff to/from business partners). Our study contributes to the literature by taking a microfoundations approach to unpack the ‘black box’ of organizational capabilities critical for managing complex innovation projects into actions and practices, and emphasizes the importance of firms' internal preparedness for managing openness.
ABSTRACT: Research shows that knowledge sharing and system integration are two major challenges posed by openness to business partners in complex innovation projects. However, there remains limited research on the microfoundations (i.e., actions and practices) underpinning the organizational capabilities required to address these challenges. Drawing on a case study of a pioneering electric vehicle manufacturer, we develop a multi-stage process model showing how these capabilities are developed and phased out in terms of the organizational principles (e.g., hierarchical product architecture) and actions and practices (e.g., sharing knowledge by deputing staff to/from business partners). Our study contributes to the literature by taking a microfoundations approach to unpack the ‘black box’ of organizational capabilities critical for managing complex innovation projects into actions and practices, and emphasizes the importance of firms' internal preparedness for managing openness.
Journal: Industrial Marketing Management
Published: Jun 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Stefan Markovic
The Effect of Procurement Centralization on Government Purchasing Prices: Evidence from a Field Experiment
ABSTRACT: A fundamental question in public policy and management research is whether large-centralized or small-decentralized organizations perform best. Perhaps nowhere is this tradeoff more tangible than in the context of government procurement of goods and services, where even small differences in organizational efficiency can lead to significant differences in purchasing prices. In this article, we put the theoretical arguments concerning centralized versus decentralized procurement to a systematic empirical test. We conduct a randomized field experiment of public purchase of air travel in the Danish central government. Our findings suggest that centralized procurement is not associated with lower purchasing prices; if anything, centralized purchasing is slightly more costly than decentralized purchasing of identical products. However, centralized procurement may offer other benefits, such as economies of process, information, and compliance. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications of our findings and propose avenues for further research on centralized versus decentralized government purchasing.
ABSTRACT: A fundamental question in public policy and management research is whether large-centralized or small-decentralized organizations perform best. Perhaps nowhere is this tradeoff more tangible than in the context of government procurement of goods and services, where even small differences in organizational efficiency can lead to significant differences in purchasing prices. In this article, we put the theoretical arguments concerning centralized versus decentralized procurement to a systematic empirical test. We conduct a randomized field experiment of public purchase of air travel in the Danish central government. Our findings suggest that centralized procurement is not associated with lower purchasing prices; if anything, centralized purchasing is slightly more costly than decentralized purchasing of identical products. However, centralized procurement may offer other benefits, such as economies of process, information, and compliance. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications of our findings and propose avenues for further research on centralized versus decentralized government purchasing.
Journal: International Public Management Journal
Published: Jul 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Mads Dagnis Jensen
Diverse Cognitive Skills and Team Performance: A Field Experiment based on an Entrepreneurship Education Program
ABSTRACT: Verbal and mathematical reasoning are key cognitive skills which individuals use throughout their lives to create economic value. We argue that individuals undertaking entrepreneurial tasks also draw on these skills, and we study how best these skills should be combined in entrepreneurial teams. To that purpose we conduct a randomized field experiment using data from the BizWorld entrepreneurship education program. Four different types of teams are created which differ in terms of their cognitive skill composition. Our results show that balanced skills are beneficial for a team's venture performance only if it comes from within-person skill balance, and that combining team members with different skills in mixed teams does not compensate for a lack of members who individually possess balanced cognitive skills.
ABSTRACT: Verbal and mathematical reasoning are key cognitive skills which individuals use throughout their lives to create economic value. We argue that individuals undertaking entrepreneurial tasks also draw on these skills, and we study how best these skills should be combined in entrepreneurial teams. To that purpose we conduct a randomized field experiment using data from the BizWorld entrepreneurship education program. Four different types of teams are created which differ in terms of their cognitive skill composition. Our results show that balanced skills are beneficial for a team's venture performance only if it comes from within-person skill balance, and that combining team members with different skills in mixed teams does not compensate for a lack of members who individually possess balanced cognitive skills.
Journal: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Mirjam Van Praag
A Diagnostic Tool to Determine a Strategic Improvisation Readiness Index Score (IRIS) to Survive, Adapt, and Thrive in a Crisis
ABSTRACT: Crises for business-to-business (B2B) firms are characterized by unexpected or unanticipated severe threats that are highly uncertain where strategic response times are low in which executives are victim of overwhelming time pressures to action fast strategic responses to these events—as the threats bring to question the viability and survivability of the firm. Consequently, crises provoke a profound impact on executives' sensemaking, as they attempt strategically navigate these events. We bridge thinking around crisis management with theories of strategic decision-making and conclude that strategic improvisation is a vital mechanism that enables effective management interventions to be executed as a means of surviving, adapting, or potentially thriving under challenging circumstances. We derive a theoretically grounded framework of five strategic imperatives underlying our 10C Strategic Imperative Framework for improvisation readiness. First, we develop the Improvisation Readiness Index Score (IRIS) as a means for executives to diagnose their organization's improvisation readiness according to the requisite strategic imperatives. Second, we present a three-step guide for executives to consider for managing through readiness.
ABSTRACT: Crises for business-to-business (B2B) firms are characterized by unexpected or unanticipated severe threats that are highly uncertain where strategic response times are low in which executives are victim of overwhelming time pressures to action fast strategic responses to these events—as the threats bring to question the viability and survivability of the firm. Consequently, crises provoke a profound impact on executives' sensemaking, as they attempt strategically navigate these events. We bridge thinking around crisis management with theories of strategic decision-making and conclude that strategic improvisation is a vital mechanism that enables effective management interventions to be executed as a means of surviving, adapting, or potentially thriving under challenging circumstances. We derive a theoretically grounded framework of five strategic imperatives underlying our 10C Strategic Imperative Framework for improvisation readiness. First, we develop the Improvisation Readiness Index Score (IRIS) as a means for executives to diagnose their organization's improvisation readiness according to the requisite strategic imperatives. Second, we present a three-step guide for executives to consider for managing through readiness.
Journal: Industrial Marketing Management
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Robert E. Morgan and Adam Lindgreen
Alternative Organization and Neo-normative Control: Notes on a British Town Council
ABSTRACT: This paper explores how normative control is enacted in an alternative ‘minor party’ in Southwest England called Independents for Frome. Based primarily on ethnographic data and interviews, I argue that this case constitutes an example of ‘neo-normative’ control, where homogenizing norms are substituted by a celebration of difference, fun, and individualization. This conceptualization allows me to discuss the relationship between alternative organization and neo-normative control. In doing so, I argue that neo-normative control has progressive and ‘alternative’ potential if practiced alongside procedures that (1) prevent autonomy from turning into isolation and marginalization, (2) ensure that solidarity does not morph into an unquestioned hegemony of the strong, and (3) enable responsibility to the future to be carried out in an accountable manner. This leads me to call for critical performativity projects that team up with ‘allies’ within the formal political system instead of focusing exclusively on extra-parliamentarian organizations.
ABSTRACT: This paper explores how normative control is enacted in an alternative ‘minor party’ in Southwest England called Independents for Frome. Based primarily on ethnographic data and interviews, I argue that this case constitutes an example of ‘neo-normative’ control, where homogenizing norms are substituted by a celebration of difference, fun, and individualization. This conceptualization allows me to discuss the relationship between alternative organization and neo-normative control. In doing so, I argue that neo-normative control has progressive and ‘alternative’ potential if practiced alongside procedures that (1) prevent autonomy from turning into isolation and marginalization, (2) ensure that solidarity does not morph into an unquestioned hegemony of the strong, and (3) enable responsibility to the future to be carried out in an accountable manner. This leads me to call for critical performativity projects that team up with ‘allies’ within the formal political system instead of focusing exclusively on extra-parliamentarian organizations.
Journal: Culture and Organization
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Emil Husted
Design as Redesign in the Case of Architectural Competitions: The Role of Design Visualisations and Juries
ABSTRACT: Organisational research positions design as complex and open-ended. We contribute to research on design and the organisation of competition by conceptualising design as redesign and as a collective ‘thing’ consisting of an interconnected and dynamically evolving set of new design issues and matters of concern that blur actors’ professional roles. Our approach builds on actor-network theory using an ethnographic study to follow architects’ design work in a commercial case of a dialogue-based architectural competition. Building scales and design concepts were translated and inscribed into different forms of design visualisations and circulated amongst the client, the architect office, and the workshop during the encounter between the team of architects and the jury. As circulating references, design visualisations retain and transform the design and give rise to new contradictory design issues during the actors’ verbal dialogue.
ABSTRACT: Organisational research positions design as complex and open-ended. We contribute to research on design and the organisation of competition by conceptualising design as redesign and as a collective ‘thing’ consisting of an interconnected and dynamically evolving set of new design issues and matters of concern that blur actors’ professional roles. Our approach builds on actor-network theory using an ethnographic study to follow architects’ design work in a commercial case of a dialogue-based architectural competition. Building scales and design concepts were translated and inscribed into different forms of design visualisations and circulated amongst the client, the architect office, and the workshop during the encounter between the team of architects and the jury. As circulating references, design visualisations retain and transform the design and give rise to new contradictory design issues during the actors’ verbal dialogue.
Journal: Culture and Organization
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Kjell Tryggestad and Peter Holm Jacobsen
Seniorers arbejdsliv på kanten: Mellem at blive eller gå
ABSTRACT: I snart 30 år har seniorernes tilknytning til arbejdsmarkedet spillet en central rolle i den politiske debat. Den politiske ambition har været at få fl ere seniorer til at trække sig senere tilbage fra arbejdsmarkedet og er blevet omsat i en serie af reformer; bl.a. i form førtidspensionsreformer (2003 og 2013) og efterløns- og pensionsreformer (1999, 2006 og 2011). En effekt af reformerne er, at det er blevet meget vanskeligt at få tilkendt førtidspension; at efterlønnen stort set er udfaset, og at pensionsalderen forventes at stige markant for at nå 72 år i 2050 (Finansministeriet, 2018). De gennemførte reformer bygger på simple – men politisk slagkraftige – ideer om, at mennesker i deres færden styres af økonomiske incitamenter, dvs. forestillingen er, at generøse tilbagetrækningsordninger lokker eller trækker seniorerne ud af arbejdsmarkedet før tid (’pull’). Spørgsmålet er imidlertid, om idégrundlaget for reformerne og den forventede senere tilbagetrækning er virkelighedsnær? Ifølge EU’s 2018-Ageing Report, der har sine tal fra Finansministeriet, forventes den gennemsnitlige tilbagetrækningsalder i 2050 ikke at være 72 år, men kun 67,5 år for mænd og 66,8 år for kvinder (European Commission, 2018). Der er med andre ord meget, der tyder på, at forestillingen om, at vi i 2050 er i stand til at arbejde, indtil vi når 72 år, bærer præg af ønsketænkning.
ABSTRACT: I snart 30 år har seniorernes tilknytning til arbejdsmarkedet spillet en central rolle i den politiske debat. Den politiske ambition har været at få fl ere seniorer til at trække sig senere tilbage fra arbejdsmarkedet og er blevet omsat i en serie af reformer; bl.a. i form førtidspensionsreformer (2003 og 2013) og efterløns- og pensionsreformer (1999, 2006 og 2011). En effekt af reformerne er, at det er blevet meget vanskeligt at få tilkendt førtidspension; at efterlønnen stort set er udfaset, og at pensionsalderen forventes at stige markant for at nå 72 år i 2050 (Finansministeriet, 2018). De gennemførte reformer bygger på simple – men politisk slagkraftige – ideer om, at mennesker i deres færden styres af økonomiske incitamenter, dvs. forestillingen er, at generøse tilbagetrækningsordninger lokker eller trækker seniorerne ud af arbejdsmarkedet før tid (’pull’). Spørgsmålet er imidlertid, om idégrundlaget for reformerne og den forventede senere tilbagetrækning er virkelighedsnær? Ifølge EU’s 2018-Ageing Report, der har sine tal fra Finansministeriet, forventes den gennemsnitlige tilbagetrækningsalder i 2050 ikke at være 72 år, men kun 67,5 år for mænd og 66,8 år for kvinder (European Commission, 2018). Der er med andre ord meget, der tyder på, at forestillingen om, at vi i 2050 er i stand til at arbejde, indtil vi når 72 år, bærer præg af ønsketænkning.
Journal: Tidsskrift for Arbejdsliv
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Mette Mogensen
The Value of Publicly Available, Textual and Non-textual Information for Startup Performance Prediction
ABSTRACT: Can publicly available, web-scraped data be used to identify promising business startups at an early stage? To answer this question, we use such textual and non-textual information about the names of Danish firms and their addresses as well as their business purpose statements (BPSs) supplemented by core accounting information along with founder and initial startup characteristics to forecast the performance of newly started enterprises over a five years' time horizon. The performance outcomes we consider are involuntary exit, above–average employment growth, a return on assets of above 20 percent, new patent applications and participation in an innovation subsidy program. Our first key finding is that our models predict startup performance with either high or very high accuracy with the exception of high returns on assets where predictive power remains poor. Our second key finding is that the data requirements for predicting performance outcomes with such accuracy are low. To forecast the two innovation-related performance outcomes well, we only need to include a set of variables derived from the BPS texts while an accurate prediction of startup survival and high employment growth needs the combination of (i) information derived from the names of the startups, (ii) data on elementary founder-related characteristics and (iii) either variables describing the initial characteristics of the startup (to predict startup survival) or business purpose statement information (to predict high employment growth). These sets of variables are easily obtainable since the underlying information is mandatory to report upon business registration. The substantial accuracy of our predictions for survival, employment growth, new patents and participation in innovation subsidy programs indicates ample scope for algorithmic scoring models as an additional pillar of funding and innovation support decisions.
ABSTRACT: Can publicly available, web-scraped data be used to identify promising business startups at an early stage? To answer this question, we use such textual and non-textual information about the names of Danish firms and their addresses as well as their business purpose statements (BPSs) supplemented by core accounting information along with founder and initial startup characteristics to forecast the performance of newly started enterprises over a five years' time horizon. The performance outcomes we consider are involuntary exit, above–average employment growth, a return on assets of above 20 percent, new patent applications and participation in an innovation subsidy program. Our first key finding is that our models predict startup performance with either high or very high accuracy with the exception of high returns on assets where predictive power remains poor. Our second key finding is that the data requirements for predicting performance outcomes with such accuracy are low. To forecast the two innovation-related performance outcomes well, we only need to include a set of variables derived from the BPS texts while an accurate prediction of startup survival and high employment growth needs the combination of (i) information derived from the names of the startups, (ii) data on elementary founder-related characteristics and (iii) either variables describing the initial characteristics of the startup (to predict startup survival) or business purpose statement information (to predict high employment growth). These sets of variables are easily obtainable since the underlying information is mandatory to report upon business registration. The substantial accuracy of our predictions for survival, employment growth, new patents and participation in innovation subsidy programs indicates ample scope for algorithmic scoring models as an additional pillar of funding and innovation support decisions.
Journal: Bonn
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Ulrich Kaiser
Examining the Potential of Textual Big Data Analytics for Public Policy Decision-making: A Case Study with Driverless Cars in Denmark
ABSTRACT: The simultaneous growth of textual data and the advancements within Text Analytics enables organisations to exploit this kind of unstructured data, and tap into previously hidden knowledge. However, the utilisation of this valuable resource is still insufficiently unveiled in terms of transport policy decision-making. This research aims to further examine the potential of textual big data analytics in transportation through a real-life case study. The case study, framed together with the Danish Road Directorate or Vejdirektoratet, was designed to assess public opinion towards the adoption of driverless cars in Denmark. Traditionally, the opinion of the public has often been captured by means of surveys for the problem owner. Our study provides demonstrations in which opinion towards the adoption of driverless cars is examined through the analysis of newspaper articles and tweets using topic modelling, document classification, and sentiment analysis. In this way, the research attends to the collective as well as individualised characteristics of public opinion. The analyses establish that Text Analytics may be used as a complement to surveys, in order to extract additional knowledge which may not be captured through the use of surveys. In this regard, the Danish Road Directorate could find the usefulness while understanding the barriers in the results generated from our study, for supplementing their future data collection strategies. However there are also some methodological limitations that need to be addressed before a broader adoption of textual big data analytics for transport policy decision-making may take place.
ABSTRACT: The simultaneous growth of textual data and the advancements within Text Analytics enables organisations to exploit this kind of unstructured data, and tap into previously hidden knowledge. However, the utilisation of this valuable resource is still insufficiently unveiled in terms of transport policy decision-making. This research aims to further examine the potential of textual big data analytics in transportation through a real-life case study. The case study, framed together with the Danish Road Directorate or Vejdirektoratet, was designed to assess public opinion towards the adoption of driverless cars in Denmark. Traditionally, the opinion of the public has often been captured by means of surveys for the problem owner. Our study provides demonstrations in which opinion towards the adoption of driverless cars is examined through the analysis of newspaper articles and tweets using topic modelling, document classification, and sentiment analysis. In this way, the research attends to the collective as well as individualised characteristics of public opinion. The analyses establish that Text Analytics may be used as a complement to surveys, in order to extract additional knowledge which may not be captured through the use of surveys. In this regard, the Danish Road Directorate could find the usefulness while understanding the barriers in the results generated from our study, for supplementing their future data collection strategies. However there are also some methodological limitations that need to be addressed before a broader adoption of textual big data analytics for transport policy decision-making may take place.
Journal: Transport Policy
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Aseem Kinra
Conflicting Notions of a Project: The Battle Between Albert O. Hirschman and Bent Flyvbjerg
ABSTRACT: The field of project management has erected an impressive edifice of knowledge that apparently hinders us in learning anything from experience except what we already know. We will use the recent controversy between Hirschman and Flyvbjerg to trace this academic imposition to a narrow notion of a project and to find inspiration in a radically different notion for opening the field to new types of issues and lessons.
ABSTRACT: The field of project management has erected an impressive edifice of knowledge that apparently hinders us in learning anything from experience except what we already know. We will use the recent controversy between Hirschman and Flyvbjerg to trace this academic imposition to a narrow notion of a project and to find inspiration in a radically different notion for opening the field to new types of issues and lessons.
Journal: Project Management Journal
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Kristian Kreiner
Automation, Performance, and International Competition: A Firm-level Comparison of Process Innovation
ABSTRACT: The automation of production processes is an important topic on the policy agenda in high-wage countries, and Denmark is no exception. However, the knowledge of the adoption of automation technologies across firms, of drivers of investments in automation, and on the association between automation and firm performance are limited. This paper uses a new survey to collect data on automation combined with register data to examine these issues. The variation in the adoption of automation technologies is high, the change in adoption over time is slow, and almost half of Danish manufacturing firms relied greatly on manual production processes in 2010. Increasing international competition from China is a driver for investments in automation, i.e., the manufacturing firms that are exposed to intensifying competition from China in their output markets invest more in automation than firms that are not exposed to this type of competition. We conduct external validation of the automation survey by examining the association between the automation measures and firm performance measures constructed from completely independent data sources. We find that the measures of automation are significantly associated with productivity and profitability.
ABSTRACT: The automation of production processes is an important topic on the policy agenda in high-wage countries, and Denmark is no exception. However, the knowledge of the adoption of automation technologies across firms, of drivers of investments in automation, and on the association between automation and firm performance are limited. This paper uses a new survey to collect data on automation combined with register data to examine these issues. The variation in the adoption of automation technologies is high, the change in adoption over time is slow, and almost half of Danish manufacturing firms relied greatly on manual production processes in 2010. Increasing international competition from China is a driver for investments in automation, i.e., the manufacturing firms that are exposed to intensifying competition from China in their output markets invest more in automation than firms that are not exposed to this type of competition. We conduct external validation of the automation survey by examining the association between the automation measures and firm performance measures constructed from completely independent data sources. We find that the measures of automation are significantly associated with productivity and profitability.
Journal: Economic Policy
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Anders Sørensen
With a Little Help from My Friends: Social-network Job Search and Overqualification among Recent Intra-EU Migrants Moving from East to West
ABSTRACT: This article examines the relationship between social networks as a job-finding channel and overqualification among recent EU migrants from Central Eastern to Western European countries. Social networks composed of relatives, friends or acquaintances can facilitate access to employers and thereby enhance labour market integration. However, when labour markets are segmented, (co-ethnic) social networks might also contribute to locking migrants into sectors and occupations characterised by high migrant shares, increasing the probability of a mismatch between skills and occupations. Drawing on data from the special module on migrants and their descendants in the 2014 European Labour Force Survey, this article considers subjective and objective overqualification. The analysis reveals that finding jobs through social networks bears a higher risk of overqualification in general, and especially for recent Central Eastern European migrants. The results point to a complex relationship between social-network job search, sectoral segmentation and destination-country language proficiency.
ABSTRACT: This article examines the relationship between social networks as a job-finding channel and overqualification among recent EU migrants from Central Eastern to Western European countries. Social networks composed of relatives, friends or acquaintances can facilitate access to employers and thereby enhance labour market integration. However, when labour markets are segmented, (co-ethnic) social networks might also contribute to locking migrants into sectors and occupations characterised by high migrant shares, increasing the probability of a mismatch between skills and occupations. Drawing on data from the special module on migrants and their descendants in the 2014 European Labour Force Survey, this article considers subjective and objective overqualification. The analysis reveals that finding jobs through social networks bears a higher risk of overqualification in general, and especially for recent Central Eastern European migrants. The results point to a complex relationship between social-network job search, sectoral segmentation and destination-country language proficiency.
Journal: Work, Employment and Society
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Janine Leschke
International Connectedness and Local Disconnectedness: MNE Strategy, City-regions and Disruption
ABSTRACT: Much of the rising international connectedness of city-regions has developed from MNEs replacing local connections with (superior) international ones. This often creates local disconnectedness that energizes the current populist backlash against MNE activities. We develop approaches to new IB theory, addressing the interdependencies of MNEs and city-regions that we propose as a crucial avenue for future research. We contrast two generic MNE strategies. The first is the traditional one: the ‘global orchestration’ of resources and markets. We argue that it exacerbates local disconnectedness. The second, that we call ‘local spawning,’ involves engaging with the local entrepreneurial eco-system to create and renew local connectedness, diffusing populist responses. Some MNEs are better able to implement a local spawning strategy, due to industry factors like innovation clock-speed, and firm characteristics like organizational path dependency. Finally, we distinguish between disconnection, which is an outcome of MNE strategy, and global disruptions, like the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which are primarily stochastic events. Addressing disconnections requires MNEs to re-orient their strategies while dealing with disruptions requires undertaking risk mitigation. We present empirical evidence from city-regions around the world to illustrate our theory.
ABSTRACT: Much of the rising international connectedness of city-regions has developed from MNEs replacing local connections with (superior) international ones. This often creates local disconnectedness that energizes the current populist backlash against MNE activities. We develop approaches to new IB theory, addressing the interdependencies of MNEs and city-regions that we propose as a crucial avenue for future research. We contrast two generic MNE strategies. The first is the traditional one: the ‘global orchestration’ of resources and markets. We argue that it exacerbates local disconnectedness. The second, that we call ‘local spawning,’ involves engaging with the local entrepreneurial eco-system to create and renew local connectedness, diffusing populist responses. Some MNEs are better able to implement a local spawning strategy, due to industry factors like innovation clock-speed, and firm characteristics like organizational path dependency. Finally, we distinguish between disconnection, which is an outcome of MNE strategy, and global disruptions, like the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which are primarily stochastic events. Addressing disconnections requires MNEs to re-orient their strategies while dealing with disruptions requires undertaking risk mitigation. We present empirical evidence from city-regions around the world to illustrate our theory.
Journal:
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Mark Lorenzen
The Established and the Delegated: The Division of Labour of Domination among Effective Agents on the Field of Power in Denmark
ABSTRACT: What is the relationship between the various forms of power held by elites in contemporary society? Using Bourdieu’s notion of the field of power, we address this question by exploring the division of labour of domination among contemporary Danish elites. Via a specific multiple correspondence analysis of 44 variables with 198 categories, we examine the relationship between the volume and distribution of various forms of capital held by 423 individuals at the core of Danish elite networks, arguing that they constitute effective agents in the field of power. We find three major differentiations between: (1) established and newcomers; (2) public and private forms of legitimation; and (3) rural or industrial-based, but nonetheless organisationally well connected, elites and the social elite surrounding Copenhagen state nobility. The legitimising pole of the field of power does not necessarily derive its positions from the cultural field but can also rely on delegated forms of capital.
ABSTRACT: What is the relationship between the various forms of power held by elites in contemporary society? Using Bourdieu’s notion of the field of power, we address this question by exploring the division of labour of domination among contemporary Danish elites. Via a specific multiple correspondence analysis of 44 variables with 198 categories, we examine the relationship between the volume and distribution of various forms of capital held by 423 individuals at the core of Danish elite networks, arguing that they constitute effective agents in the field of power. We find three major differentiations between: (1) established and newcomers; (2) public and private forms of legitimation; and (3) rural or industrial-based, but nonetheless organisationally well connected, elites and the social elite surrounding Copenhagen state nobility. The legitimising pole of the field of power does not necessarily derive its positions from the cultural field but can also rely on delegated forms of capital.
Journal: Sociology
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Anton Grau Larsen, Christoph Houman Ellersgaard and Jacob Aagaard Lunding
On a Language That Does Not Cease Speaking: Blanchot and Lacan on the Experience of Language in Literature and Psychosis
ABSTRACT: This essay shows how certain limit-points of Lacan's psychoanalytic discourse in his 1955–56 seminar on The Psychoses tangentially brush up against Maurice Blanchot's writing on the neuter, as presented in The Space of Literature from 1955. The effort is to strike up a conversation between Lacan's “clinical discourse” and Blanchot's “critical writing” on the topics of language, writing, authority, and madness. In this regard, the essay approaches an infinite point of approximation between the procedure of psychosis and the procedure of literary writing by questioning whether, at some point in these different ways of proceeding, they may share a certain experience of language. Namely, this is an experience of a language that, as stated by both Jacques Lacan and Maurice Blanchot, “speaks all by itself” and does so incessantly and with a certain furious neutrality.
ABSTRACT: This essay shows how certain limit-points of Lacan's psychoanalytic discourse in his 1955–56 seminar on The Psychoses tangentially brush up against Maurice Blanchot's writing on the neuter, as presented in The Space of Literature from 1955. The effort is to strike up a conversation between Lacan's “clinical discourse” and Blanchot's “critical writing” on the topics of language, writing, authority, and madness. In this regard, the essay approaches an infinite point of approximation between the procedure of psychosis and the procedure of literary writing by questioning whether, at some point in these different ways of proceeding, they may share a certain experience of language. Namely, this is an experience of a language that, as stated by both Jacques Lacan and Maurice Blanchot, “speaks all by itself” and does so incessantly and with a certain furious neutrality.
Journal: Comparative and Continental Philosophy
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Cathrine Bjørnholt Michaelsen
Unconscious Processes of Organizing: Intergroup Conflict in Mental Health Care
ABSTRACT: A critical but overlooked issue in Weick’s seminal work, The Social Psychology of Organizing (1969/1979), concerns ‘the heat’ of organizing processes, namely, the underground emotional processes underpinning the organizing of conflictual work relationships. We present a qualitative case study of psychiatric agencies mandated by public policy to collaborate but instead engaged in persistent conflict despite its deleterious effects on their working relationship and on the wellbeing of the clients they intended to serve. To explain these conflictual features of organizing, we integrate Weick’s organizing theory with systems psychodynamics to deepen the understanding of emotions in organizing, specifically the motivational forces underpinning sensemaking and actions between interacting psychiatric agencies. This integration of theories reveals a critical feature of the relationship between the conscious and unconscious organizing processes: When a threat is involved, sensemaking and action are overtaken by social defences, resulting in dysfunctional organizing of the primary task. Drawing on these findings, we enrich Weick’s seminal work by developing a model that portrays organizing as the ritualized interaction of emotions, sensemaking and behavioural responses.
ABSTRACT: A critical but overlooked issue in Weick’s seminal work, The Social Psychology of Organizing (1969/1979), concerns ‘the heat’ of organizing processes, namely, the underground emotional processes underpinning the organizing of conflictual work relationships. We present a qualitative case study of psychiatric agencies mandated by public policy to collaborate but instead engaged in persistent conflict despite its deleterious effects on their working relationship and on the wellbeing of the clients they intended to serve. To explain these conflictual features of organizing, we integrate Weick’s organizing theory with systems psychodynamics to deepen the understanding of emotions in organizing, specifically the motivational forces underpinning sensemaking and actions between interacting psychiatric agencies. This integration of theories reveals a critical feature of the relationship between the conscious and unconscious organizing processes: When a threat is involved, sensemaking and action are overtaken by social defences, resulting in dysfunctional organizing of the primary task. Drawing on these findings, we enrich Weick’s seminal work by developing a model that portrays organizing as the ritualized interaction of emotions, sensemaking and behavioural responses.
Journal: Journal of Management Studies
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Elisabeth Naima Mikkelsen
Datafied Corporate Political Activity: Updating Corporate Advocacy For a Digital Era
ABSTRACT: Digital transformations have significant consequences for organizational attempts to shape their environments. Our focus is on how corporate political activity evolves in ways that require us to pay more attention to how information gets structured in digital spaces, and on how information ecosystems operate and shape strategic communication activities in organizational settings. We outline these digital transformations, offer a focus on corporate political activity as informational and develop a typology of datafied corporate political activity techniques to illustrate how the workings of digital spaces shape political issues more concretely. This serves to highlight the necessity of extending the focus of informational corporate political activity beyond the contents of overt and direct messages to include the more covert and subtle forms of influence made possible through the strategic structuring of information itself. This also contributes to our understanding of the political significance of corporate political activity, which is less about influencing political issues by composing appealing messages and distributing them to relevant audiences, and more about influencing political issues by organizing digital information and feeding algorithms. We suggest that such datastructures and algorithmic forms of sorting will become as important as message contents, and that datafied advocacy will become a central component of corporate political activity and other organizational activities.
ABSTRACT: Digital transformations have significant consequences for organizational attempts to shape their environments. Our focus is on how corporate political activity evolves in ways that require us to pay more attention to how information gets structured in digital spaces, and on how information ecosystems operate and shape strategic communication activities in organizational settings. We outline these digital transformations, offer a focus on corporate political activity as informational and develop a typology of datafied corporate political activity techniques to illustrate how the workings of digital spaces shape political issues more concretely. This serves to highlight the necessity of extending the focus of informational corporate political activity beyond the contents of overt and direct messages to include the more covert and subtle forms of influence made possible through the strategic structuring of information itself. This also contributes to our understanding of the political significance of corporate political activity, which is less about influencing political issues by composing appealing messages and distributing them to relevant audiences, and more about influencing political issues by organizing digital information and feeding algorithms. We suggest that such datastructures and algorithmic forms of sorting will become as important as message contents, and that datafied advocacy will become a central component of corporate political activity and other organizational activities.
Journal: Organization
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Mikkel Flyverbom
The Development of Supply Chain Risk Management Over Time: Revisiting Ericsson
ABSTRACT: Purpose: This invited article explores current developments in supply chain risk management (SCRM) practices by revisiting the classical case of Ericsson (Norrman and Jansson, 2004) after 15 years, and updating its case description and analysis of its organizational structure, processes and tools for SCRM. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory case study is conducted with a longitudinal focus, aiming to understand both proactive and reactive SCRM practices using a holistic perspective of a real-life example. Findings: The study demonstrates how Ericsson's SCRM practices have developed, indicating that improved functional capabilities are increasingly combined across silos and leveraged by formalized learning processes. Important enablers are IT capabilities, a fine-grained and cross-functional organization, and a focus on monitoring and compliance. Major developments in SCRM are often triggered by incidents, but also by requirements from external stakeholders and new corporate leaders actively focusing on SCRM and related activities. Research limitations/implications: Relevant areas for future research are proposed, thereby increasing the knowledge of how companies can develop SCRM practices and capabilities further. Practical implications: Being one of few in-depth holistic case studies of SCRM, decision-makers can learn about many practices and tools. Of special interest is the detailed description of how Ericsson reactively responded to the Fukushima incident (2011), and how it proactively engaged in monitoring and assessment activities. It is also exemplified how SCRM practices could continuously be developed to make them “stick” to the organization, even in stable times. Originality/value: This is one of the first case studies to delve deeper into the development of SCRM practices through taking a longitudinal approach.
ABSTRACT: Purpose: This invited article explores current developments in supply chain risk management (SCRM) practices by revisiting the classical case of Ericsson (Norrman and Jansson, 2004) after 15 years, and updating its case description and analysis of its organizational structure, processes and tools for SCRM. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory case study is conducted with a longitudinal focus, aiming to understand both proactive and reactive SCRM practices using a holistic perspective of a real-life example. Findings: The study demonstrates how Ericsson's SCRM practices have developed, indicating that improved functional capabilities are increasingly combined across silos and leveraged by formalized learning processes. Important enablers are IT capabilities, a fine-grained and cross-functional organization, and a focus on monitoring and compliance. Major developments in SCRM are often triggered by incidents, but also by requirements from external stakeholders and new corporate leaders actively focusing on SCRM and related activities. Research limitations/implications: Relevant areas for future research are proposed, thereby increasing the knowledge of how companies can develop SCRM practices and capabilities further. Practical implications: Being one of few in-depth holistic case studies of SCRM, decision-makers can learn about many practices and tools. Of special interest is the detailed description of how Ericsson reactively responded to the Fukushima incident (2011), and how it proactively engaged in monitoring and assessment activities. It is also exemplified how SCRM practices could continuously be developed to make them “stick” to the organization, even in stable times. Originality/value: This is one of the first case studies to delve deeper into the development of SCRM practices through taking a longitudinal approach.
Journal: International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Andreas Wieland
How Does Daddy at Home Affect Marital Stability?
ABSTRACT: We investigate whether paying fathers to stay at home with their newborn child affects marital stability. Our empirical analysis is based on a reform in Iceland that offered one month of parental leave earmarked to fathers with a child born on or after January 2001. This reform created substantial economic incentives for fathers to be more involved in caring for their children during their first months of life, and the take-up rate in the first year was 82.4%. We apply a regression discontinuity framework to assess the effect of this reform on the probability of separation among couples and find that parents who are entitled to paternity leave are less likely to separate. The effect persists throughout the first 15 years after the child is born. Interestingly, paternity leave has the strongest impact among couples where the mother has higher, or equal, educational attainment to that of the father.
ABSTRACT: We investigate whether paying fathers to stay at home with their newborn child affects marital stability. Our empirical analysis is based on a reform in Iceland that offered one month of parental leave earmarked to fathers with a child born on or after January 2001. This reform created substantial economic incentives for fathers to be more involved in caring for their children during their first months of life, and the take-up rate in the first year was 82.4%. We apply a regression discontinuity framework to assess the effect of this reform on the probability of separation among couples and find that parents who are entitled to paternity leave are less likely to separate. The effect persists throughout the first 15 years after the child is born. Interestingly, paternity leave has the strongest impact among couples where the mother has higher, or equal, educational attainment to that of the father.
Journal: Economic Journal
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Herdis Steingrimsdottir and Arna Olafsson
A Swift Turnaround? Abating Shipping Greenhouse Gas Emissions via Port Call Optimization
ABSTRACT: Waiting times for trucks, trains, airplanes and ships in service represent apparent transport system inefficiencies, and measures to reduce these may have the potential to abate transport GHG emissions. In international shipping, transportation researchers have pointed out that reduced waiting time in association with port calls holds such promise. We explore the potential for GHG abatement through port call optimization, focusing on crews and their employers - the shipping companies. Adding new empirical evidence to the transportation literature, we confirm the existence of idle time during port calls, and go beyond this in describing the causes for it. We show how several port stakeholders, including government officials, limit the crews’ and shipping companies’ room for maneuver in relation to port calls. We also show why the process of reducing waiting time in shipping is more complex than that for onshore transport modes, where real-time traffic information guides drivers’ route choices, and reduces congestion and waiting time. Our findings have implications for both policy makers and transportation research.
ABSTRACT: Waiting times for trucks, trains, airplanes and ships in service represent apparent transport system inefficiencies, and measures to reduce these may have the potential to abate transport GHG emissions. In international shipping, transportation researchers have pointed out that reduced waiting time in association with port calls holds such promise. We explore the potential for GHG abatement through port call optimization, focusing on crews and their employers - the shipping companies. Adding new empirical evidence to the transportation literature, we confirm the existence of idle time during port calls, and go beyond this in describing the causes for it. We show how several port stakeholders, including government officials, limit the crews’ and shipping companies’ room for maneuver in relation to port calls. We also show why the process of reducing waiting time in shipping is more complex than that for onshore transport modes, where real-time traffic information guides drivers’ route choices, and reduces congestion and waiting time. Our findings have implications for both policy makers and transportation research.
Journal: Transportation Research. Part D: Transport & Environment
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: René Taudal Poulsen
Is More Really Better? Environmental Uncertainty, Performance Measure Variety and Organizational Performance
ABSTRACT: Purpose: This paper asks the question of whether more environmental uncertainty affects the design of performance measurement systems in terms of a greater variety of performance measures and whether this leads to more management satisfaction with the performance measurement system and improved firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach: Information processing theory is used to frame the hypotheses and findings. A questionnaire was sent to the 300 largest companies in Iceland, where environmental uncertainty has been prevalent.
Findings: The results indicate that increased uncertainty leads to a larger variety of non-financial performance measures, such as customer measures. A positive relationship is found between management satisfaction with the performance measurement system and firm performance. However, the variety of performance measures was not linked to management satisfaction or firm performance.
Research limitations/implications: The results suggest that managers increase the variety of performance measures when uncertainty increases. However, it is not the variety itself that increases management satisfaction or improves firm performance.
Practical implications: Performance measurement design is affected by environmental uncertainty. Managers focus on important stakeholder groups such as customers under such conditions and can consult research and practice for the purpose of customer relationship management and customer profitability measurement to improve measurement selection.
Originality/value: This work focusses on performance measurement system design, examining the use of more than 50 different performance measures, and differentiates between small and medium-sized firms and between service and non-service firms.
ABSTRACT: Purpose: This paper asks the question of whether more environmental uncertainty affects the design of performance measurement systems in terms of a greater variety of performance measures and whether this leads to more management satisfaction with the performance measurement system and improved firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach: Information processing theory is used to frame the hypotheses and findings. A questionnaire was sent to the 300 largest companies in Iceland, where environmental uncertainty has been prevalent.
Findings: The results indicate that increased uncertainty leads to a larger variety of non-financial performance measures, such as customer measures. A positive relationship is found between management satisfaction with the performance measurement system and firm performance. However, the variety of performance measures was not linked to management satisfaction or firm performance.
Research limitations/implications: The results suggest that managers increase the variety of performance measures when uncertainty increases. However, it is not the variety itself that increases management satisfaction or improves firm performance.
Practical implications: Performance measurement design is affected by environmental uncertainty. Managers focus on important stakeholder groups such as customers under such conditions and can consult research and practice for the purpose of customer relationship management and customer profitability measurement to improve measurement selection.
Originality/value: This work focusses on performance measurement system design, examining the use of more than 50 different performance measures, and differentiates between small and medium-sized firms and between service and non-service firms.
Journal: International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Olaf Sigurjonsson and Pall Rikhardsson
New Directions in EU Digital Regulation Post-2015: Regulating Disruption
ABSTRACT: This paper explores the gradual change of direction in the European digital policy on the content layer that took place after the introduction of the 2015 Digital Single Market Strategy. It argues that, while the main objectives of the pre2015 policy have been the promotion and facilitation of the free movement of digital services through liberalisation, the post-2015 digital strategy changes direction to the defence against real and imagined threats and downplays the liberalising credo it was originally based on. The first part outlines the objectives of the EU digital policy pre-2015 and argues that low-key regulatory intervention in information society services and robust intermediary liability regime are its cornerstones. The second part explores the main regulatory methods post-2015: the emergence of platforms, new types of rules and new regulatory principles. The final section gives a critical overview and explains why the current approach is inadequate for the future.
ABSTRACT: This paper explores the gradual change of direction in the European digital policy on the content layer that took place after the introduction of the 2015 Digital Single Market Strategy. It argues that, while the main objectives of the pre2015 policy have been the promotion and facilitation of the free movement of digital services through liberalisation, the post-2015 digital strategy changes direction to the defence against real and imagined threats and downplays the liberalising credo it was originally based on. The first part outlines the objectives of the EU digital policy pre-2015 and argues that low-key regulatory intervention in information society services and robust intermediary liability regime are its cornerstones. The second part explores the main regulatory methods post-2015: the emergence of platforms, new types of rules and new regulatory principles. The final section gives a critical overview and explains why the current approach is inadequate for the future.
Journal: Union University Law School Review
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Andrej Savin
Market Research as Ascetic Detachment: Product Testing in a German Market Test Town
ABSTRACT: The work that market research companies conduct on behalf of their clients is often understood in terms of market intermediaries that help clients identify both marketing strategies and new marketing opportunities. This article challenges this understanding by interpreting market research work in terms of detachment from the market. Drawing on the example of an experimental market research test town in Germany, the article identifies the role of market researchers as that of slowly taking new product concepts out of the hands of their clients and transforming these concepts into test objects. Market researchers who use consumer panels in the test town apply various detachment and immunization strategies that help absorb products into their own test systems. From the perspective of research clients, the detachment from their product concepts is of an ascetic nature as it involves an exercise to give up control in order to master the world.
ABSTRACT: The work that market research companies conduct on behalf of their clients is often understood in terms of market intermediaries that help clients identify both marketing strategies and new marketing opportunities. This article challenges this understanding by interpreting market research work in terms of detachment from the market. Drawing on the example of an experimental market research test town in Germany, the article identifies the role of market researchers as that of slowly taking new product concepts out of the hands of their clients and transforming these concepts into test objects. Market researchers who use consumer panels in the test town apply various detachment and immunization strategies that help absorb products into their own test systems. From the perspective of research clients, the detachment from their product concepts is of an ascetic nature as it involves an exercise to give up control in order to master the world.
Journal: Consumption Markets and Culture
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Stefan Schwarzkopf
Internet of Things Based Blockchain for Temperature Monitoring and Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Prevention
ABSTRACT: The top priority of today's healthcare system is delivering medicine directly from the manufacturer to end-user. The pharmaceutical supply chain involves some level of commingling of a collection of stakeholders such as distributors, manufacturers, wholesalers, and customers. The biggest challenge associated with this supply chain is temperature monitoring as well as counterfeit drug prevention. Many drugs and vaccines remain viable within a specific range of temperatures. If exposed beyond this temperature range, the medicine no longer works as intended. In this paper, an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor-based blockchain framework is proposed that tracks and traces drugs as they pass slowly through the entire supply chain. On the one hand, these new technologies of blockchain and IoT sensors play an essential role in supply chain management. On the other hand, they also pose new challenges of security for resource-constrained IoT devices and blockchain scalability issues to handle this IoT sensor-based information. In this paper, our primary focus is on improving classic blockchain systems to make it suitable for IoT based supply chain management, and as a secondary focus, applying these new promising technologies to enable a viable smart healthcare ecosystem through a drug supply chain.
ABSTRACT: The top priority of today's healthcare system is delivering medicine directly from the manufacturer to end-user. The pharmaceutical supply chain involves some level of commingling of a collection of stakeholders such as distributors, manufacturers, wholesalers, and customers. The biggest challenge associated with this supply chain is temperature monitoring as well as counterfeit drug prevention. Many drugs and vaccines remain viable within a specific range of temperatures. If exposed beyond this temperature range, the medicine no longer works as intended. In this paper, an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor-based blockchain framework is proposed that tracks and traces drugs as they pass slowly through the entire supply chain. On the one hand, these new technologies of blockchain and IoT sensors play an essential role in supply chain management. On the other hand, they also pose new challenges of security for resource-constrained IoT devices and blockchain scalability issues to handle this IoT sensor-based information. In this paper, our primary focus is on improving classic blockchain systems to make it suitable for IoT based supply chain management, and as a secondary focus, applying these new promising technologies to enable a viable smart healthcare ecosystem through a drug supply chain.
Journal: Sensors
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Rajani Singh
Knotty Financiers: A Comparative Take on Finance, Value, and Inequality
ABSTRACT: This article argues for a larger comparative vision in the contemporary studies of finance, one that draws on financial practices observed in and theories developed from both capitalist and non-capitalist contexts. Much present-day ethnographic work on finance, due to specific analytic framing devices, has largely not considered why and how finance also occurs in non-capitalist contexts. In turn, the article compares Inka knot-record accounting to the accounting that occurs in present-day, private-equity led leveraged buyouts to show that people coercively use the same tools of abstraction in radically different cultural contexts. Moreover, this realization allows for better theorization of finance’s emergence and role in a given society.
ABSTRACT: This article argues for a larger comparative vision in the contemporary studies of finance, one that draws on financial practices observed in and theories developed from both capitalist and non-capitalist contexts. Much present-day ethnographic work on finance, due to specific analytic framing devices, has largely not considered why and how finance also occurs in non-capitalist contexts. In turn, the article compares Inka knot-record accounting to the accounting that occurs in present-day, private-equity led leveraged buyouts to show that people coercively use the same tools of abstraction in radically different cultural contexts. Moreover, this realization allows for better theorization of finance’s emergence and role in a given society.
Journal: Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Daniel Souleles
Trading Options and the Unattainable Dream: Some Reflections on Semiotic Ideologies
ABSTRACT: Over the last few decades there has been a miniature industrial revolution in the buying and selling of securities on capital and derivatives markets. Whereas most trading once happened in open outcry pits or over the phone, trading now occurs primarly via electronic limit order books. Whereas once traders could have little education and find work as a consequence of membership in a local insular network, new financial hires are now the most talented graduates of PhD and master’s programs in the hard sciences and mathematics. Even though these circumstances are well attested, knowing is not enough for some to become this new kind of trader. I suggest that the theory of semiotic ideologies—that is, what grounding assumptions people bring to the process of interpreting signs—can be used to illustrate boundary cases of social change in which people are simply unable to learn enough to adapt to new circumstances in their lives. I will show that even though traders can adopt the appropriate semiotic ideology of markets that their times demand, some of them will never be skilled enough to fully participate. This, in turn, has to do with the nature of change in a capitalist economic system.
ABSTRACT: Over the last few decades there has been a miniature industrial revolution in the buying and selling of securities on capital and derivatives markets. Whereas most trading once happened in open outcry pits or over the phone, trading now occurs primarly via electronic limit order books. Whereas once traders could have little education and find work as a consequence of membership in a local insular network, new financial hires are now the most talented graduates of PhD and master’s programs in the hard sciences and mathematics. Even though these circumstances are well attested, knowing is not enough for some to become this new kind of trader. I suggest that the theory of semiotic ideologies—that is, what grounding assumptions people bring to the process of interpreting signs—can be used to illustrate boundary cases of social change in which people are simply unable to learn enough to adapt to new circumstances in their lives. I will show that even though traders can adopt the appropriate semiotic ideology of markets that their times demand, some of them will never be skilled enough to fully participate. This, in turn, has to do with the nature of change in a capitalist economic system.
Journal: Signs and Society
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Daniel Souleles
The Role of Global Dynamic Managerial Capability in the Pursuit of International Strategy and Superior Performance
ABSTRACT: We develop the construct of global dynamic managerial capability (GDMC) and identify its underlying sources: (1) international human capital, (2) international social capital, and (3) international managerial cognitions. Consistent with dynamic capabilities view and upper echelons theory, we suggest that GDMC leads to global asset orchestration, which in turn, results in superior company performance in a two-stage process. First, GDMC leads companies to adopt global strategies that spread the risk of internationalizations across different entry modes and geographic regions. Second, the (re)configuration of global assets positively influences subsequent firm performance and thus mediates the relationship between GDMC and performance. Recognizing the triad of factors that form global dynamic managerial capability is crucial when selecting future managers of multinational corporations. Hence, firms with increasing international exposure – both domestically via foreign competition and internationally via foreign market presence – may seek to compose their upper echelons with a suitable combination of international human and social capital as well as internationally diverse cognitions in the pursuit of sustained competitive advantage.
ABSTRACT: We develop the construct of global dynamic managerial capability (GDMC) and identify its underlying sources: (1) international human capital, (2) international social capital, and (3) international managerial cognitions. Consistent with dynamic capabilities view and upper echelons theory, we suggest that GDMC leads to global asset orchestration, which in turn, results in superior company performance in a two-stage process. First, GDMC leads companies to adopt global strategies that spread the risk of internationalizations across different entry modes and geographic regions. Second, the (re)configuration of global assets positively influences subsequent firm performance and thus mediates the relationship between GDMC and performance. Recognizing the triad of factors that form global dynamic managerial capability is crucial when selecting future managers of multinational corporations. Hence, firms with increasing international exposure – both domestically via foreign competition and internationally via foreign market presence – may seek to compose their upper echelons with a suitable combination of international human and social capital as well as internationally diverse cognitions in the pursuit of sustained competitive advantage.
Journal: Journal of International Business Studies
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Sabina Tasheva and Bo Bernhard Nielsen
Benefits of Heroes to Coping with Mortality Threats by Providing Perceptions of Personal Power and Reducing Unhealthy Compensatory Consumption
ABSTRACT: Mortality threats are among the strongest psychological threats that an individual can encounter. Previous research shows that mortality threats lead people to engage in unhealthy compensatory consumption (i.e., overeating), as a maladaptive coping response to threat. In this paper, we propose that reminders of heroes when experiencing mortality threat increases perceptions of personal power, which in turn buffers the need to engage in unhealthy compensatory consumption. We test and find support for our predictions in a series of four studies that include real‐world Twitter data after a series of terrorist attacks in 2016–2017, and three experimental studies conducted online and in the field with behavioral measures after Day of the Dead and during COVID‐19 pandemic. These findings advance the literature on compensatory consumption, mortality threats, and the psychological functions of heroes.
ABSTRACT: Mortality threats are among the strongest psychological threats that an individual can encounter. Previous research shows that mortality threats lead people to engage in unhealthy compensatory consumption (i.e., overeating), as a maladaptive coping response to threat. In this paper, we propose that reminders of heroes when experiencing mortality threat increases perceptions of personal power, which in turn buffers the need to engage in unhealthy compensatory consumption. We test and find support for our predictions in a series of four studies that include real‐world Twitter data after a series of terrorist attacks in 2016–2017, and three experimental studies conducted online and in the field with behavioral measures after Day of the Dead and during COVID‐19 pandemic. These findings advance the literature on compensatory consumption, mortality threats, and the psychological functions of heroes.
Journal: Psychology & Marketing
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Gülen Sarial Abi
The Challenges of Implementing Temporal Shifts in Temporary Organizations: Implications of a Situated Temporal View
ABSTRACT: We apply a situated temporal view to reveal the acute challenge actors face in making changes when their project moves toward its final deadline. A situated temporal view takes account not just of the dwindling time left to change the future but also the lingering past, the combination of which poses particular challenges to organizers. We discuss aspects of temporary organizing that make such temporal shifts challenging: the complex interplay between temporal structures and practices, multiple temporal orientations, and deferred timing of temporal shifts. We suggest ideas for further research to apply a situated temporal view to temporary organizing.
ABSTRACT: We apply a situated temporal view to reveal the acute challenge actors face in making changes when their project moves toward its final deadline. A situated temporal view takes account not just of the dwindling time left to change the future but also the lingering past, the combination of which poses particular challenges to organizers. We discuss aspects of temporary organizing that make such temporal shifts challenging: the complex interplay between temporal structures and practices, multiple temporal orientations, and deferred timing of temporal shifts. We suggest ideas for further research to apply a situated temporal view to temporary organizing.
Journal: Project Management Journal
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Tor Hernes
Gales, Streams, and Multipliers: Conceptual Metaphors and Theory Development in Business History
ABSTRACT: Conceptual metaphors, like Galambos and Amatori’s “entrepreneurial multiplier,” play a pivotal but largely unexamined role in historical interpretation. They do this by allowing historians to see one set of historical associations or relationships in terms of another, more familiar, one. I highlight this interpretive role by comparing Galambos and Amatori’s construct to Joseph Schumpeter’s “gale of creative destruction” and Arthur Cole’s “entrepreneurial stream” as metaphors that attempt to explain the relationship between entrepreneurship and historical change. I also point out the risks that taken-for-granted metaphors can have in narrowing room for interpretation, and argue that reflexivity and playfulness are essential to keeping conceptual metaphors alive as interpretive devices. I conclude by suggesting that metaphors are an intrinsic form of theorizing in historical interpretation, and illustrate my argument by briefly examining “industrial revolution” as a construct in business and economic history.
ABSTRACT: Conceptual metaphors, like Galambos and Amatori’s “entrepreneurial multiplier,” play a pivotal but largely unexamined role in historical interpretation. They do this by allowing historians to see one set of historical associations or relationships in terms of another, more familiar, one. I highlight this interpretive role by comparing Galambos and Amatori’s construct to Joseph Schumpeter’s “gale of creative destruction” and Arthur Cole’s “entrepreneurial stream” as metaphors that attempt to explain the relationship between entrepreneurship and historical change. I also point out the risks that taken-for-granted metaphors can have in narrowing room for interpretation, and argue that reflexivity and playfulness are essential to keeping conceptual metaphors alive as interpretive devices. I conclude by suggesting that metaphors are an intrinsic form of theorizing in historical interpretation, and illustrate my argument by briefly examining “industrial revolution” as a construct in business and economic history.
Journal: Enterprise & Society
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: R. Daniel Wadhwani
When Inaccuracies in Value Functions do not Propagate on Optima and Equilibria.
ABSTRACT: We study general classes of discrete time dynamic optimization problems and dynamic games with feedback controls. In such problems, the solution is usually found by using the Bellman or Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation for the value function in the case of dynamic optimization and a set of such coupled equations for dynamic games, which is not always possible accurately. We derive general rules stating what kind of errors in the calculation or computation of the value function do not result in errors in calculation or computation of an optimal control or a Nash equilibrium along the corresponding trajectory. This general result concerns not only errors resulting from using numerical methods but also errors resulting from some preliminary assumptions related to replacing the actual value functions by some a priori assumed constraints for them on certain subsets. We illustrate the results by a motivating example of the Fish Wars, with singularities in payoffs.
ABSTRACT: We study general classes of discrete time dynamic optimization problems and dynamic games with feedback controls. In such problems, the solution is usually found by using the Bellman or Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation for the value function in the case of dynamic optimization and a set of such coupled equations for dynamic games, which is not always possible accurately. We derive general rules stating what kind of errors in the calculation or computation of the value function do not result in errors in calculation or computation of an optimal control or a Nash equilibrium along the corresponding trajectory. This general result concerns not only errors resulting from using numerical methods but also errors resulting from some preliminary assumptions related to replacing the actual value functions by some a priori assumed constraints for them on certain subsets. We illustrate the results by a motivating example of the Fish Wars, with singularities in payoffs.
Journal: Mathematics
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Rajani Singh
Sociocultural Sustainability and the Formation of Social Capital from Community-based Tourism
ABSTRACT: Favorable resident perceptions of the development of social capital resulting from hosting community-based tourism is an important issue for the Chinese authorities. This study aimed to develop and test a multidimensional scale to evaluate the perceived social impacts from tourism on social capital from sustainable community-based tourism in China. A questionnaire was distributed to host community residents (430) in Fanhe village, Guangdong Province. Analysis from this survey resulted in the development of a six-factor model incorporating 20 items in the six groups. This allowed the researchers to assess perceived social impacts on social capital: covering collective efficacy, community belonging, traditional social regulations, community cohesion, social networking, and community competence. The study reveals the multidimensional nature of perceived tourism social impacts on social capital in the Chinese tourism community and contributes to a better understanding of how residents view the social capital associated with community-based tourism as part of sustainable development.
ABSTRACT: Favorable resident perceptions of the development of social capital resulting from hosting community-based tourism is an important issue for the Chinese authorities. This study aimed to develop and test a multidimensional scale to evaluate the perceived social impacts from tourism on social capital from sustainable community-based tourism in China. A questionnaire was distributed to host community residents (430) in Fanhe village, Guangdong Province. Analysis from this survey resulted in the development of a six-factor model incorporating 20 items in the six groups. This allowed the researchers to assess perceived social impacts on social capital: covering collective efficacy, community belonging, traditional social regulations, community cohesion, social networking, and community competence. The study reveals the multidimensional nature of perceived tourism social impacts on social capital in the Chinese tourism community and contributes to a better understanding of how residents view the social capital associated with community-based tourism as part of sustainable development.
Journal: Journal of Travel Research
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Robin Nunkoo
Unpacking the Black Box of Trade Credit to Socially Responsible Customers
ABSTRACT: We investigate whether suppliers value customer firms’ socially responsible activities by examining the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firms’ access to trade credit. We posit that firms with better social performance are more likely to receive trade credit because suppliers view customers’ CSR activities as a signal of trustworthiness and of the capacity to meet financial obligations. In addition to this direct channel, we describe other channels: a) trade credit opens the possibility for suppliers to secure a share of their customers’ future business opportunities, which are expected to be higher for socially responsible firms, and b) the risk associated with the diffusion of negative shocks through the supply chain due to trade credit is lower for socially responsible firms, making them more attractive partners for suppliers. Consistent with our predictions, we find that socially responsible customers receive more trade credit from suppliers. This relation is more pronounced in situations where the aforementioned channels are more relevant: namely, when the financial health of a customer is of greater importance to its suppliers; when there are greater information asymmetries between suppliers and customers due to a lack of close transactional relationships; when socially responsible activities are more likely to generate growth; and when suppliers are exposed to higher risk in the customer-supplier relationship. We also document that during the global financial crisis, socially responsible customers offered backward liquidity provision to suppliers by reducing their use of trade credit, which represents an extra benefit of having socially responsible customers in production networks.
ABSTRACT: We investigate whether suppliers value customer firms’ socially responsible activities by examining the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firms’ access to trade credit. We posit that firms with better social performance are more likely to receive trade credit because suppliers view customers’ CSR activities as a signal of trustworthiness and of the capacity to meet financial obligations. In addition to this direct channel, we describe other channels: a) trade credit opens the possibility for suppliers to secure a share of their customers’ future business opportunities, which are expected to be higher for socially responsible firms, and b) the risk associated with the diffusion of negative shocks through the supply chain due to trade credit is lower for socially responsible firms, making them more attractive partners for suppliers. Consistent with our predictions, we find that socially responsible customers receive more trade credit from suppliers. This relation is more pronounced in situations where the aforementioned channels are more relevant: namely, when the financial health of a customer is of greater importance to its suppliers; when there are greater information asymmetries between suppliers and customers due to a lack of close transactional relationships; when socially responsible activities are more likely to generate growth; and when suppliers are exposed to higher risk in the customer-supplier relationship. We also document that during the global financial crisis, socially responsible customers offered backward liquidity provision to suppliers by reducing their use of trade credit, which represents an extra benefit of having socially responsible customers in production networks.
Journal: Journal of Banking & Finance
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Yanlei Zhang
Promoting Users’ Intention to Share Online Health Articles on Social Media: The Role of Confirmation Bias
ABSTRACT: Nowadays, it is a common practice for healthcare professionals to spread medical knowledge by posting health articles on social media. However, promoting users’ intention to share such articles is challenging because the extent of sharing intention varies in their eHealth literacy (high or low) and the content valence of the article that they are exposed to (positive or negative). This study investigates boundary conditions under which eHealth literacy and content valence help to increase users’ intention to share by introducing a moderating role of confirmation bias—a tendency to prefer information that conforms to their initial beliefs. A 2 (eHealth literacy: high vs. low) × 2 (content valence: positive vs. negative) between-subjects experiment was conducted in a sample of 80 participants. Levels of confirmation bias ranging from extreme negative bias to extreme positive bias among the participants were assessed during the experiment. Results suggested that: (1) users with a high level of eHealth literacy were more likely to share positive health articles when they had extreme confirmation bias; (2) users with a high level of eHealth literacy were more likely to share negative health articles when they had moderate confirmation bias or no confirmation bias; (3) users with a low level of eHealth literacy were more likely to share health articles regardless of positive or negative content valence when they had moderate positive confirmation bias. This study sheds new light on the role of confirmation bias in users’ health information sharing. Also, it offers implications for health information providers who want to increase the visibility of their online health articles: they need to consider readers’ eHealth literacy and confirmation bias when deciding the content valence of the articles.
ABSTRACT: Nowadays, it is a common practice for healthcare professionals to spread medical knowledge by posting health articles on social media. However, promoting users’ intention to share such articles is challenging because the extent of sharing intention varies in their eHealth literacy (high or low) and the content valence of the article that they are exposed to (positive or negative). This study investigates boundary conditions under which eHealth literacy and content valence help to increase users’ intention to share by introducing a moderating role of confirmation bias—a tendency to prefer information that conforms to their initial beliefs. A 2 (eHealth literacy: high vs. low) × 2 (content valence: positive vs. negative) between-subjects experiment was conducted in a sample of 80 participants. Levels of confirmation bias ranging from extreme negative bias to extreme positive bias among the participants were assessed during the experiment. Results suggested that: (1) users with a high level of eHealth literacy were more likely to share positive health articles when they had extreme confirmation bias; (2) users with a high level of eHealth literacy were more likely to share negative health articles when they had moderate confirmation bias or no confirmation bias; (3) users with a low level of eHealth literacy were more likely to share health articles regardless of positive or negative content valence when they had moderate positive confirmation bias. This study sheds new light on the role of confirmation bias in users’ health information sharing. Also, it offers implications for health information providers who want to increase the visibility of their online health articles: they need to consider readers’ eHealth literacy and confirmation bias when deciding the content valence of the articles.
Journal: Information Processing & Management
Published: 2020
Read more
Contact CBS researcher: Haiping Zhao
Sidst opdateret: Sekretariat for Ledelse og Kommunikation // 09/09/2020