Corporate social responsibility

There is general consensus nowadays that CSR is not just altruistic do-gooding but rather a way for both companies and society to prosper. Companies themselves increasingly recognize that their sustainability depends on their willingness to assume responsibility for social and environmental issues. Academic research has, in the past, tried to theorize exactly how CSR improves business, employee satisfaction and productivity. However, few studies have a) separated the different effects of internal CSR and external CSR and b) studied these effects in times of internal organizational distrust. Hence, this paper examines the relationship between each type of CSR with two outcome variables related to employee attitudes: affective organizational commitment (AOC) and turnover intentions (TI). Furthermore, it investigates whether organizational distrust works as a moderator in each of these relationships by testing the hypothesis using a sample of 212 employees from a company that is currently going through a moment of internal crisis. Findings suggest that although all variables are strongly correlated, distrust works as a moderator for external CSR but not for internal CSR. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings conclude the paper.

Essays on bounded rationality: Individual decision and strategic interaction

Economics is a social science which, therefore, focuses on people and on the decisions they make, be it in an individual context, or in group situations. It studies human choices, in face of needs to be fulfilled, and a limited amount of resources to fulfill them. For a long time, there was a convergence between the normative and positive views of human behavior, in that the ideal and predicted decisions of agents in economic models were entangled in one single concept. That is, it was assumed that the best that could be done in each situation was exactly the choice that would prevail. Or, at least, that the facts that economics needed to explain could be understood in the light of models in which individual agents act as if they are able to make ideal decisions. However, in the last decades, the complexity of the environment in which economic decisions are made and the limits on the ability of agents to deal with it have been recognized, and incorporated into models of decision making in what came to be known as the bounded rationality paradigm. This was triggered by the incapacity of the unboundedly rationality paradigm to explain observed phenomena and behavior. This thesis contributes to the literature in three different ways. Chapter 1 is a survey on bounded rationality, which gathers and organizes the contributions to the field since Simon (1955) first recognized the necessity to account for the limits on human rationality. The focus of the survey is on theoretical work rather than the experimental literature which presents evidence of actual behavior that differs from what classic rationality predicts. The general framework is as follows. Given a set of exogenous variables, the economic agent needs to choose an element from the choice set that is avail- able to him, in order to optimize the expected value of an objective function (assuming his preferences are representable by such a function). If this problem is too complex for the agent to deal with, one or more of its elements is simplified. Each bounded rationality theory is categorized according to the most relevant element it simplifes. Chapter 2 proposes a novel theory of bounded rationality. Much in the same fashion as Conlisk (1980) and Gabaix (2014), we assume that thinking is costly in the sense that agents have to pay a cost for performing mental operations. In our model, if they choose not to think, such cost is avoided, but they are left with a single alternative, labeled the default choice. We exemplify the idea with a very simple model of consumer choice and identify the concept of isofin curves, i.e., sets of default choices which generate the same utility net of thinking cost. Then, we apply the idea to a linear symmetric Cournot duopoly, in which the default choice can be interpreted as the most natural quantity to be produced in the market. We find that, as the thinking cost increases, the number of firms thinking in equilibrium decreases. More interestingly, for intermediate levels of thinking cost, an equilibrium in which one of the firms chooses the default quantity and the other best responds to it exists, generating asymmetric choices in a symmetric model. Our model is able to explain well-known regularities identified in the Cournot experimental literature, such as the adoption of different strategies by players (Huck et al. , 1999), the inter temporal rigidity of choices (Bosch-Dom enech & Vriend, 2003) and the dispersion of quantities in the context of di cult decision making (Bosch-Dom enech & Vriend, 2003). Chapter 3 applies a model of bounded rationality in a game-theoretic set- ting to the well-known turnout paradox in large elections, pivotal probabilities vanish very quickly and no one should vote, in sharp contrast with the ob- served high levels of turnout. Inspired by the concept of rhizomatic thinking, introduced by Bravo-Furtado & Côrte-Real (2009a), we assume that each per- son is self-delusional in the sense that, when making a decision, she believes that a fraction of the people who support the same party decides alike, even if no communication is established between them. This kind of belief simplifies the decision of the agent, as it reduces the number of players he believes to be playing against { it is thus a bounded rationality approach. Studying a two-party first-past-the-post election with a continuum of self-delusional agents, we show that the turnout rate is positive in all the possible equilibria, and that it can be as high as 100%. The game displays multiple equilibria, at least one of which entails a victory of the bigger party. The smaller one may also win, provided its relative size is not too small; more self-delusional voters in the minority party decreases this threshold size. Our model is able to explain some empirical facts, such as the possibility that a close election leads to low turnout (Geys, 2006), a lower margin of victory when turnout is higher (Geys, 2006) and high turnout rates favoring the minority (Bernhagen & Marsh, 1997).

Basel III: The impact of new capital requirements on profitability of Portuguese Banks

This empirical study aims to explore the impact of increased capital ratio requirements, on the ROE of the Portuguese banking sector. The paper employs both a quantitative- and qualitative approach, with the qualitative approach as the main method of research. The method adopted to conduct the qualitative research was semi structured elite interviews with banking executives. Higher capital requirements decrease the ROE of banks in Portugal, but huge impairments charges, macroeconomic factors and increased costs of deposits are clearly the dominant reasons for the reduced levels of ROE the past years. Among the measures taken to increase capital ratios, reduction of RWAs and non-core assets have been the main focus, but the issuance of CoCos is regarded as the most expensive measure due to high interest payments. However, the CoCos will not have any effect on the ROE in the long term. It is difficult to draw any conclusions on the impact of more equity in the balance sheet on the ROE of Portuguese banks, as many banks currently don’t generate enough money to pay back on shareholders´ investments.

Contratos de prestação de serviços de comunicações electrónicas

The object of this dissertation is the analysis of the legal framework applicable to contracts for provision of electronic communications services, while trying to offer solutions to some of the issues regarding this matter. The main focus of this study will be the rules concerning service’s suspension, which have been recently amended. The technological development and the establishment of these services as information transmitters and work tools were noteworthy for its growing importance at the present time. These services include cable television, telephone (landline and mobile) and internet and they are regulated by Law nr 23/96, July 26th, along with other essential public services. Said law sets a group of principles and duties, such as good faith (article 3), continuity and quality of the service (article 7) and the duty to rightfully inform the user (article 4), in order to protect the users. For the analysis of legal framework applicable to these particular contracts it is also fundamental to mention Law nr 5/2004, February 10th, known as Electronic Communications Law. The provisions regarding the service’s suspension are currently prescribed in articles 52.º and 52.º-A of the law. Given the amendments introduced by Law nr 10/2013, January 28th, consumers are subjected to a regulation different from the one applicable to the other users, established in the new article 52.º-A. From our analysis, we have concluded that the main change from past provisions has to do with the automatic termination of the contract as consequence of the consumer’s failure to pay the price or to conclude a written payment arrangement after service’s suspension.

Community indentification in peer-t-peer collaborative consumption services

Even though collaborative consumption (CC) is gaining economic importance, research in CC is still in its infancy. Consumers’ reasons for participating have already been investigated but little research on consequences of participation has been conducted. This article examines whether interactions between customers in peer-to-peer CC services influence the willingness to coproduce service outcomes. Drawing on social exchange theory, it is proposed that this effect is mediated by consumers’ identification with the brand community. Furthermore, continuance intention in CC is introduced as a second stage moderator. In a cross-sectional study, customers of peer-to-peer accommodation sharing are surveyed. While customer-to-customer interactions were found to have a positive effect on brand community identification, brand community identification did not positively affect co-production intention. Surprisingly, the effect of brand community identification on co-production intention was negative. Moreover, continuance intention of customers did not moderate this relationship. Bearing in mind current challenges for researchers and companies, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Finding the hidden influencers

This thesis is a first step in the search for the characteristics of funders, and the underlying motivation that drives them to participate in crowdfunding. The purpose of the study is to identify demographics and psychographics that influence a funder’s willingness to financially support a crowdfunding project (WFS). Crowdfunding, crowdsourcing and donation literature are combined to create a conceptual model in which age, gender, altruism and income, together with several control variables, are expected to have an influence on a funder’s WFS. Primary data collection was conducted using a survey, and a dataset of 175 potential crowdfunders was created. The data is analysed using a multiple regression and provided several interesting results. First of all, age and gender have a significant effect on WFS, males and young adults until the age of 30 have a higher intention to give money to crowdfunding projects. Second, altruism is significantly positively related to WFS, meaning that the funders do not just care about the potential rewards they could receive, but also about the benefits that they create for the entrepreneur and the people affected by the crowdfunding project. Third, the moderation effect of income was found to be insignificant in this model. It shows that income does not affect the strength of the relationship between the age, gender and altruism, and WFS. This study provides important theoretical contributions by, to the best of my knowledge, being the first study to quantitatively investigate the characteristics of funders and using the funder as the unit of analysis. Moreover, the study provides important insights for entrepreneurs who wish to target the crowd better in order to attract and retain more funders, thereby increasing the chance of success of their project.

Comparing impact and cost-effectiveness of primary prevention strategies for lipid-lowering.

BACKGROUND: Lipid-lowering therapy is costly but effective at reducing coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. OBJECTIVE: To assess the cost-effectiveness and public health impact of Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) guidelines and compare with a range of risk- and age-based alternative strategies. DESIGN: The CHD Policy Model, a Markov-type cost-effectiveness model. DATA SOURCES: National surveys (1999 to 2004), vital statistics (2000), the Framingham Heart Study (1948 to 2000), other published data, and a direct survey of statin costs (2008). TARGET POPULATION: U.S. population age 35 to 85 years. Time Horizon: 2010 to 2040. PERSPECTIVE: Health care system. INTERVENTION: Lowering of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). OUTCOME MEASURE: Incremental cost-effectiveness. RESULTS OF BASE-CASE ANALYSIS: Full adherence to ATP III primary prevention guidelines would require starting (9.7 million) or intensifying (1.4 million) statin therapy for 11.1 million adults and would prevent 20,000 myocardial infarctions and 10,000 CHD deaths per year at an annual net cost of $3.6 billion ($42,000/QALY) if low-intensity statins cost $2.11 per pill. The ATP III guidelines would be preferred over alternative strategies if society is willing to pay $50,000/QALY and statins cost $1.54 to $2.21 per pill. At higher statin costs, ATP III is not cost-effective; at lower costs, more liberal statin-prescribing strategies would be preferred; and at costs less than $0.10 per pill, treating all persons with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels greater than 3.4 mmol/L (>130 mg/dL) would yield net cost savings. RESULTS OF SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS: Results are sensitive to the assumptions that LDL cholesterol becomes less important as a risk factor with increasing age and that little disutility results from taking a pill every day. LIMITATION: Randomized trial evidence for statin effectiveness is not available for all subgroups. CONCLUSION: The ATP III guidelines are relatively cost-effective and would have a large public health impact if implemented fully in the United States. Alternate strategies may be preferred, however, depending on the cost of statins and how much society is willing to pay for better health outcomes. FUNDING: Flight Attendants' Medical Research Institute and the Swanson Family Fund. The Framingham Heart Study and Framingham Offspring Study are conducted and supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Missed appointments in an adolescent outpatient clinic: descriptive analyses of consultations over 8 years.

Missed appointments represent an important medical and economical issue. Few studies on the subject are reported in the literature, particularly regarding adolescents. Our aim was to characterize missed and cancelled appointments in a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic for adolescents, to assess the effectiveness of a policy aimed at reducing missed appointments by introducing payment for those missed appointments not cancelled in advance, and to compare the rates between staff and resident physicians. A total of 32,816 consultations (representing 35 patients aged 12-20 years, 82.4% females) between 1999 and 200 were analysed. The missed appointment rate was 11.8% whilst another 10.9% were cancellations. Females cancelled more than males (11.3% vs. 8.4%, AOR 1.31, 99% CI 1.08-1.59), but there was no difference for missed appointments (11.6% vs. 12.3%, AOR 0.88, 99% CI 0.61-1.08). April and June to October (vacation months) were associated with more missed appointments. Globally mornings had higher rates of missed appointments than afternoons (13.6% vs. 11.2%, AOR 1.25, 99% CI 1.11-1.40). There was a slight difference in missed appointment rates between staff physicians and residents (10.4%; 11.8%, AOR 1.20, 99% CI 1.08-1.33). Missed appointment rates before and after the new policy on missed appointments were similar (1999-2003: 11.9%; 2004-2006: 11.6%, AOR 0.96, 99% CI 0.83-1.10). Conversely, cancellation rates increased from 8.4% (1999-2003) to 14.5% (2004-2006) (AOR 1.83, 99% CI 1.63-2.05). Attendance rates among adolescents show variations depending on vacation and school hours. Being attentive to these factors could help prevent missed appointments. Although having to pay for missed appointments does not increase attendance, it increases cancellations with the advantage that the appointment can be rescheduled.

Developing and Applying Generative Market Intelligence within Multinational Companies

Tutkielman tarkoitus on kehittää monikansallisille yrityksille tuottavan markkinaälyn malli, jonka avulla yritykset pystyvät käsittelemään muuttuvasta ja globalisoituvasta markkinaympäristöstä aiheutuvaa epävarmuutta. Malli koostuu pääosin kolmesta käsitteestä: markkinainformaation prosessoinnista, markkinasuuntautuneisuudesta ja organisationaalisesta oppimisesta. Tutkimuksessa osoitetaan, kuinka näiden samanaikainen soveltaminen johtaa synergiaetuihin. Lähdeaineistona käytettiin alan kirjallisuutta. Lisäksi haastateltiin neljää johtajaa monikansallisista yrityksistä. Käytännössä markkinaälyn soveltamisen haasteet liittyvät lähinnä markkinainformaation prosessoinnin asenteellisiin ja psykologisiin aspekteihin. Ihmisten tulisi ymmärtää, että koko yritys hyötyy heidän halukkuudestaan tiedon tuottamiseen ja jakamiseen. Lisäksi tietoa itsessään voimavarana tulisi kunnioittaa

The use of future-oriented knowledge in regional innovation processes: Research on knowledge generation, transfer and conversion

The importance of the regional level in research has risen in the last few decades and a vast literature in the fields of, for instance, evolutionary and institutional economics, network theories, innovations and learning systems, as well as sociology, has focused on regional level questions. Recently the policy makers and regional actors have also began to pay increasing attention to the knowledge economy and its needs, in general, and the connectivity and support structures of regional clusters in particular. Nowadays knowledge is generally considered as the most important source of competitive advantage, but even the most specialised forms of knowledge are becoming a short-lived resource for example due to the accelerating pace of technological change. This emphasizes the need of foresight activities in national, regional and organizational levels and the integration of foresight and innovation activities. In regional setting this development sets great challenges especially in those regions having no university and thus usually very limited resources for research activities. Also the research problem of this dissertation is related to the need to better incorporate the information produced by foresight process to facilitate and to be used in regional practice-based innovation processes. This dissertation is a constructive case study the case being Lahti region and a network facilitating innovation policy adopted in that region. Dissertation consists of a summary and five articles and during the research process a construct or a conceptual model for solving this real life problem has been developed. It is also being implemented as part of the network facilitating innovation policy in the Lahti region.

Overcoming victim behaviour through physical education

This study presents infonnation gathered during personal interviews in which participants were asked how they, as physical educators, might possibly assist the victim of bullying through their programs. The research is a qualitative study, using an inductive approach. Five participants were chosen, based on convenience sampling, with semi-structured interviews which were audio recorded. The theoretical research found that the most stable characteristics of victimized boys were lack of strength and lack of physical fitness. This suggested that Physical Education class might be the best place in which to empower victimized students to reduce their own victimization by addressing these areas of strength and fitness. From the interviews it became clear that, while these educators showed a willingness to help bullying victims through their programs, their adherence to a Physical Education model based primarily on elitism, as opposed to individual fitness, would make it difficult for them to do so effectively.

Implementing a question-generation strategy with bilingual students: exploring the perspectives of a beginning teacher /

This study examined the challenges associated with the explicit delivery of questiongeneration strategy with 8 Arab Canadian students from the perspective of a bilingual beginning teacher. This study took place in a private school and involved 2 stages consisting of 9 instructional sessions, and individual interviews with the students. Data gathered from these interviews and the researcher's field notes from the sessions were used to gain insights about the participants' understanding and use of explicit instruction. The themes that emerged from the data included "teacher attitude," "students' enhanced metacognitive awareness and strategy use," "listening skills," and "instructional challenges." Briefly, teacher's attitude demonstrated how teacher's beliefs and knowledge influenced her willingness and perseverance to teach explicitly. Students' enhanced metacognitive awareness and strategy use included students' understanding and use of the question-generation strategy. The students' listening skills suggested that culture may influence their response to the delivery of explicit instruction. Here, the cultural expectations associated with being a good listener reinforced students' willingness to engage in this strategy. Students' prior knowledge also influenced their interaction with the question-generation strategy. Time for process versus covering content was a dominant instructional challenge. This study provides first hand information for teachers when considering how students' cultural backgrounds may affect their reactions to explicit strategy instruction.

The green movement in Canada

The green movement has evolved over the last twenty years from various social, peace and ecology activist organizations into direct political participation in parliamentary institutions through the Green Party. Although there is no definable theory of green politics, the culmination of interacting social movements as well as feminist, decentralist and in many cases, left wing political ideology, has produced a specific kind of political direction for the Greens internationally. As a result of the increased a ttention and awareness given to ecological issues , combined with the heightened evidence of large scale environmental deterioration, public attitudes and government decisions on development and natural resource management have been significantly altered. The Green Party of Canada is still r elatively young in comparison to its European counterparts, although ecologica l awareness and interest in t he green movement in Canada is strong, as reflected not only in support on a political level for the Canadian Greens I but for environmental issues and a ctivism in general. For this reason it s important to determine whether or not the Green Party is a significant aspect of the Canadian green movement, and if in fact its representation is necessary as an active participant in the Canadian political system . The Green Party of Canada, as a vital aspect of the Canadian green movement, and its connection to international green organizations can be examined primarily through the examp l es of both the Canadian Greens and the Green party of Ontario , by using original party documents and literature, information gained through Green party meetings and discussions with members, and commentary by Green theorists where app licable. As well, the influence on the Canadian green movement by the German Green Party is outlined , again mainly through party literature, documents and critiques of the party's experiences. This study reveals several existing and potential problems fo r t he Green Party in Canada, and the political fut ure of the Canadian green movement in general. Some, such as the real i ties of the Canadian political system are external to the movement, and may be overcome with adjustments in goals and methods, and a realization of the changing attitude towards environmental issues in a political context . On the other hand, internal party disfunctions in both organization and direction, caused mainly by the indefinite parameters of green ideology, threaten to exploit the already problematic aspects evident in t he Green Party . Aside from its somewhat slow beginnings, the Green Party in Canada has developed into a strong grassroots social movement, not however from its political visibility but from the steady growth in the popul ari ty of ecological pol i t ics in Canada. Due to the seeming enormity of the obstacles facing the Greens in their effort 4 to achieve electoral success, it is doubtful that Parliamentary representation will be achieved without a major re-orientation of party organization and methods. UI timately the strength of the Green Party in Canada will be based upon its ability to survive as a significant movement, and its willingness to continue to challenge political thought and practice.

The origins of federal public enterprises in Canada: an appraisal of two approaches

The Green Party of Canada, as a vital aspect of the Canadian green movement, and its connection to international green organizations can be examined primarily through the examp l es of both the Canadian Greens and the Green party of Ontario , by using original party documents and literature, information gained through Green party meetings and discussions with members, and commentary by Green theorists where app licable. As well, the influence on the Canadian green movement by the German Green Party is out lined , again mainly through party literature, documents and critiques of the party's experiences. This study reveals several existing and potential problems fo r t he Green Party in Canada, and the political fut ure of the Canadian green movement in general. Some, such as the real i ties of the Canadian political system are external to the movement, and may be overcome with adjustments in goals and methods, and a realization of the changing attitude towards environmental issues in a political context . On the other hand, internal party disfunctions in both organization and direction, caused mainly by the indefinite parameters of green ideology, threaten to expl oi t t he al ready problematic aspects evident in t he Green Party . Aside from its somewhat slow beginnings, the Green Party in Canada has developed into a strong grassroots social movement, not however from its political visibility but from the steady growth in the popul ari ty of ecological pol i t ics in Canada . Due to the seeming enormity of the obstacles facing the Greens in their effort 4 to achieve electoral success, it is doubtful that Parliamentary representation will be achieved without a major re-orientation of party organization and methods. UI timately the strength of the Green Party in Canada will be based upon its ability to survive as a significant movement, and its willingness to continue to challenge political thought and practice.

Exploring Chinese-Canadians' perspectives on health : a quantitative study

Chinese have unique perspectives on health and illness, which is mostly umecognized by western medicine. Immigration may contribute to problems with health consultations, inconvenience, and dissatisfaction. As the largest visible minority in Canada, Chinese- Canadians' perspectives on health should be studied in order to help Chinese immigrants adapt to a new health-care and health-promotion system, and keep them healthy. A quantitative questionnaire was designed based on the findings from a pilot study and previous literature. A hundred participants were recruited from Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, and St. Catharines. Descriptive analysis and correlation analysis were used to investigate the structure of the variables. Findings indicated that most oftheir attitudes and corresponding practices to the different health aspects were positive. The relation between dietary practices and attitude was only found in small cities. Their attitudes were impacted by their length of stay in Canada. Their attitudes to regularly timed meals and psychological consultation were related to their acculturation level, as was the regularity of their practice of dental flossing. Their self-evaluated general health levels were also found to be affected by their medical history, education level, feeling to talk about • sexual health, and smoking, particularly in the male subjects of the study. In conclusion, they realized that each health aspect w~s important to their health. However, their practices did not bear a strong relation to their beliefs. Traditional thoughts about health reseeded with time. Acculturation level did not affect most of their attitudes or practices. Under pressure, the priority of the daily health practices decreased. Older persons, those with low incomes, lower education levels or families under stress need to pay more attention to their health level. In-depth future research was recommended.