Profitability, uncertainty and multi-product firm product proliferation: The Spanish car industry

This article studies how product introduction decisions relate to profitability and uncertainty in the context of multi-product firms and product differentiation. These two features, common to many modern industries, have not received much attention in the literature as compared to the classical problem of firm entry, even if the determinants of firm and product entry are quite different. The theoretical predictions about the sign of the impact of uncertainty on product entry are not conclusive. Therefore, an econometric model relating firms��� product introduction decisions with profitability and profit uncertainty is proposed. Firm���s estimated profits are obtained from a structural model of product demand and supply, and uncertainty is proxied by profits��� variance. The empirical analysis is carried out using data on the Spanish car industry for the period 1990-2000. The results show a positive relationship between product introduction and profitability, and a negative one with respect to profit variability. Interestingly, the degree of uncertainty appears to be a driving force of entry stronger than profitability, suggesting that the product proliferation process in the Spanish car market may have been mainly a consequence of lower uncertainty rather than the result of having a more profitable market. Keywords: Product introduction, entry, uncertainty, multiproduct firms, automobile JEL codes: L11, L13

Segimon Comas : import��ncia i contextualitzaci�� hist��rica d'un universitari i acad��mic del set-cents

Contextualitzaci�� hist��rica dels inicis de l'Acad��mia de Bones Lletres al segle XVIII, i un dels seus art��fexs, Segimon Comas.

CONSCI��NCIA IDIOM��TICA dins el marc del biling��isme catal��-castell�� a Catalunya

Recerca sobre usos i actituds ling����stiques a Catalunya en el marc del biling��isme catal��-castell��. S'analitza la relaci�� entre la consci��ncia idiom��tica de la poblaci�� i l'��s social de la llengua, per mitj�� de 100 enquestes virtuals contestades per individus d'entre 25 i 55 anys amb estudis de nivell universitari.

G��nere i biling��isme: connectant experi��ncies i teories. Introductory paper in Santaemilia, Jos��, Patricia Bou, Sergio Maruenda i Gora Zaragoza International Perspectives on Gender and Language

Peer-reviewed

The Strategic Adaptation of Party Organizations to New Information and Communication Technologies : A Study of Catalan and Spanish Parties

Aquest document se centra en els casos dels dos principals partits espanyols (PP i PSOE) i catalans (PSC i CDC) en el per��ode immediatament despr��s de les eleccions generals espanyoles de maig de 2008, quan aquests celebraren els seus congressos. En general, es poden distingir tres tipus d'actors: en primer lloc, els ciberactivistes que tracten d'obtenir el reconeixement formal de la seva activitat en els seus partits. Aix�� com, els l��ders del partit que poden intentar promoure la pres��ncia del partit en el ciberespai, per�� que tamb�� poden romandre indecisos perqu�� no ��s clar l'impacte electoral a la xarxa del ciberactivisme. Finalment, alguns militants tradicionals (off-line) solen ser reticents al reconeixement del ciberactivisme perqu�� amena��a les recompenses previstes dins del partit. Aquest article mostra com els nostres partits varen respondre al desafiament del ciberactivisme i arriba a la conclusi�� que la seva situaci�� electoral, mediada per la seva ideologia, estructura organitzativa i el tipus de milit��ncia, poden ajudar-nos a comprendre el grau diferent d'institucionalitzaci�� en l'organitzaci�� del partit.

Relation between temperature and mortality in thirteen Spanish cities

In this study we examined the shape of the association between temperature and mortality in 13 Spanish cities representing a wide range of climatic and socio demographic conditions. The temperature value linked with minimum mortality (MMT) and the slopes before and after the turning point (MMT) were calculated. Most cities showed a V-shaped temperature-mortality relationship. MMTs were generally higher in cities with warmer climates. Cold and heat effects also depended on climate: effects were greater in hotter cities but lesser in cities with higher variability. The effect of heat was greater than the effect of cold. The effect of cold and MMT was, in general, greater for cardio-respiratory mortality than for total mortality, while the effect of heat was, in general, greater among the elderly

Innovation strategies in the presence of technology markets: evidence from spanish innovative firms

The development of markets for technology has eased the acquisition of technology and reshaped the innovation strategies of firms that we classify as producers of innovations or as imitators. Innovative activities of firms include research, acquisition of technology and downstream activities. Within an industry, firms producing innovations tend to conduct more research and downstream activities than those imitating innovations. Acquisition of technology is equally important for both. To implement innovation strategies, firms producing innovations require both the capability to scan the external environment for technology and the capability to integrate new technology. Firms producing innovations require both, while firms imitating innovations require scan capabilities only

Does it pay to be socially responsible? Evidence from spanish retail banking sector

This paper presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of strategic competition in retail banking when some of the financial firms are non-profit organisations that invest in social activities. Banking literature about competition is fairly large, but the strategic interaction between profit maximizing and non profit maximizers has not been extensively analysed except for Purroy and Salas (1999). In this paper, a completely different approach is taken. An adaptation of Hotelling���s two stage model of spatial competition is developed to take into account consumer perceptions respect to the two different types of financial institutions. The empirical analysis confirms that consumers take into account other features different from the price, such as social contribution or closer service to make a deposit or mortgage decision. These conclusions are of interest in the debate about a firm���s social or ethical activities. It is shown that if consumers value social activities, firms can improv

Experimentation and Stages of Acquisition for Tobacco Consumption in Spanish Adolescents

One area which has been largely neglected when studying the acquisition of addiction to smoking with thetranstheoretical model is whether the individual had previously experimented with smoking. The importance of includingthe experimentation variable was supported by this research

What is Abstinence? Definitions and Examples of Abstinence, to Prevent the Sexual Transmission of the HIV Virus, According to Spanish University Students

Research carried out in several Anglo-Saxon countries shows that many undergraduatesidentify oral sex and anal sex as examples of abstinent behaviour, while manyothers consider kissing and masturbation as examples of having sex. The objective ofthis research was to investigate whether a sample of Spanish students gave similarreplies. Seven hundred and fifty undergraduates (92% aged under 26, 67.6%women) produced examples or definitions of the term ���abstinence���. Spanish studentsmade similar errors to those observed in the Anglo-Saxon samples, in thatbehaviours that were abstinent from a preventive point of view (masturbating andsex without penetration) were not considered as such, while a number of studentsreported oral sex as abstinent behaviour. The results suggest that the information onrisky and preventive sexual behaviour should cease to use ambiguous or euphemisticexpressions and use vocabulary that is clear and comprehensible to everyone

The interactional space in CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms

Aquest estudi pret��n investigar els intercanvis verbals mestre/a ��� aprenent(s) en dos contextos d'instrucci�� diferents: classes amb un enfocament AICLE (Aprenentatge Integrat de Continguts Curriculars i Llengua Estrangera) on s���aprenen continguts no ling����stics a trav��s de l���angl��s, per una banda, i classes 'tradicionals' d'angl��s com a llengua estrangera, on l���angl��s ��s alhora objecte d���estudi i vehicle de comunicaci��, per una altra banda. M��s concretament, les preguntes que formula el/la mestre/a, la producci�� oral dels aprenents i el 'feedback' del/de la mestre/a en els episodis d���atenci�� a la forma s���han estudiat a la llum de les principals teories provinents del camp de l���Adquisici�� de Segones Lleng��es (SLA) per tal de demostrar el seu paper en l���aprenentatge de l���angl��s. El corpus de dades prov�� de l���enregistrament de 7 sessions AICLE i d'11 sessions EFL enregistrades en format ��udio i v��deo en dos centres p��blics d���Educaci�� Prim��ria (EP) de Catalunya. A cadascuna de les escoles, el/la mateix/a mestre/a ��s l���encarregat/da dels dos tipus d���instrucci�� amb el mateix grup d���aprenents (10-11 anys d���edat), fet que permet eliminar variables individuals com l'aptitud dels aprenents o l'estil del/de la mestre/a.Els resultats mostren un cert nombre de similituds discursives entre AICLE i EFL donat que ambd��s enfocaments tenen lloc en el context-classe amb unes caracter��stiques ben definides. Tal com apunta la recerca realitzada en aquest camp, la instrucci�� AICLE reuneix un seguit de condicions id��nies per un major desenvolupament dels nivells de llengua anglesa m��s enll�� de les classes ���tradicionals��� d���angl��s. Malgrat aix��, aquest estudi sembla indicar que el potencial d'AICLE pel que fa a facilitar una exposici�� rica a l���angl��s i una producci�� oral significativa no s���explota degudament. En aquest sentit, els resultats d���aquest estudi poden contribuir a la formaci�� dels futurs professors d'AICLE si es busca l���assoliment d���una complementarietat d���ambd��s contextos amb l���objectiu ��ltim de millorar els nivells de domini de la llengua anglesa.

Universal complex structures in written language

Quantitative linguistics has provided us with a number of empirical laws that characterise the evolution of languages and competition amongst them. In terms of language usage, one of the most influential results is Zipf���s law of word frequencies. Zipf���s law appears to be universal, and may not even be unique to human language. However, there is ongoing controversy over whether Zipf���s law is a good indicator of complexity. Here we present an alternative approach that puts Zipf���s law in the context of critical phenomena (the cornerstone of complexity in physics) and establishes the presence of a large-scale ���attraction��� between successive repetitions of words. Moreover, this phenomenon is scale-invariant and universal ��� the pattern is independent of word frequency and is observed in texts by different authors and written in different languages. There is evidence, however, that the shape of the scaling relation changes for words that play a key role in the text, implying the existence of different ���universality classes��� in the repetition of words. These behaviours exhibit striking parallels with complex catastrophic phenomena.