Corporate Management,Industry Competition and the Sustainability of Firm Abnormal Profitability

This paper models the sustainability of firmabnormal profitability and uses theeffectiveness of corporate managementcapabilities as a test to examine its impact onthe sustainability of firm abnormalprofitability. The role of industry competitionas a moderator between the effectiveness ofcorporate management capabilities and thesustainability of firm abnormal profitabilityis also examined. Consistent with theresource-based view of the firm, we found thatthe effectiveness of corporate managementcapabilities positively influence thesustainability of firm abnormal profitability.This implies that corporate managementcapabilities are important contributors to theentire bundle of firm-specific resources andcapabilities which enable some firms togenerate competitive advantages that aresustainable. The effectiveness of corporatemanagement capabilities has a larger influenceon the sustainability of firm abnormalprofitability for firms in lowly competitive ormonopolistic industries than firms in highlycompetitive industries. The findings supportthe notion that not only do firm capabilitiesyield sustainable competitive advantages andabnormal profitability, but also industrycompetition reinforces the impact of firmcapabilities in yielding sustainable abnormalprofitability.     

Exploring the Eligibility Criteria of the Child Support Grant and its Impact on Poverty

One of the most important policy objectives in the post-apartheid South African economy is to reduce poverty. Although economic growth and job creation are the preferred sources of alleviating poverty and inequality, social grant spending has contributed significantly to reduce poverty (Van der Berg et al. in Poverty trends since the transition: what we know. Stellenbosch Economic Working Papers: 19/09. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University, 2009). Recently proposals were tabled by the Department of Social Development of South Africa (Fin24 in R3.3bn plan to extend child support grant to 21. http://www.fin24.com/Economy/R33bn-child-care-grant-extension-to-21-on-cards-20150316. Accessed August 7, 2015, 2015) to extend the age eligibility of the child support grant (CSG) to 21 years (at the time of writing children aged up to 18 years are eligible). This sparked an interest to investigate the impact on poverty of changes to the eligibility criteria of CSG, as well as its fiscal implications. Using person and household data from the 2010/2011 Income and Expenditure Survey, various simulations are performed to assess the impact on poverty rates and changes to social spending, given the following changes: (1) if all age-eligible children applied; (2) if all beneficiaries received the grant amount for the full 12-month duration; (3) if the age eligibility criterion is extended; and (4) if the monthly child grant income amount is revised upwards. We also examine how changes in the eligibility criteria affect the income distribution.     

Short Notices

Michael Freeden, The New Liberalism: An Ideology of Social Reform (1978), xi+291 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, £10.00).

D. W. Howell, Land and People in Nineteenth‐Century Wales (1977), xv+207 (Routledge &; Kegan Paul, £6.95).

Murray Tolmie, The Triumph of the Saints: The Separate Churches of London 1616–1649 (1977), xii+251 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, £9.00).

George Huppert, Les Bourgeois Gentilshommes. An Essay on the Definition of Élites in Renaissance France (1977), xii+237 (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, £12.95).

Robert Currie, Alan Gilbert and Lee Horsley, Churches and Churchgoers ‐ Patterns of Church Growth in the British Isles since 1700 (1977), 244 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, £12.50).

D. Philips, Crime and Authority in Victorian England: The Black Country 1835–1860 (1977), 321 (Croom Helm, £8.50).

Brenda Swann and Maureen Turnbull, Records of Interest to Social Scientists 1919–1919: Employment and Unemployment (1978), v+590 (HMSO, paperback, £13.50).     

International joint venture partner origin,strategic choice,and performance: A comparative analysis in an emerging economy in Africa

This study examines the competitive strategic choices of international joint ventures (IJVs) and their performance implications in a low-income emerging economy in Sub-Saharan Africa — Ghana. Using the resource-based view of the firm, it is argued that IJVs with partners from emerging economies are more likely to pursue an efficiency-oriented business strategy to strengthen their strategic positioning, competitiveness and performance. Conversely, IJVs with partners from advanced industrialized economies would be more likely to pursue a market effectiveness-oriented strategy to strengthen their strategic positioning, competitiveness and performance. The findings from 76 IJVs offer support for the hypothesized relationships. IJVs with partners from emerging economies implementing an efficiency-oriented strategy of cost leadership outperform those with partners from advanced industrialized economies implementing the same strategy. In contrast, IJVs with partners from advanced industrialized economies implementing a differentiation strategy outperform those with partners from emerging economies implementing a differentiation strategy.     

Charts for finding upper percentage points of Student's t in the range .01 to .00001

The Bonferroni t-statistic is a versatile tool in multiple comparisons problems. The need for "oddball percentage points" may lead to extensive tables or heavy computation. Charts of t_p as a function of log p enable near two-decimal accuracy for any percentage point between .01 and .00001     

Resurgent ethno-nationalism and the renewed demand for Biafra in south-east Nigeria

The renewed demand for Biafra by Igbo people is a rejection of their post-war socio-political and economic condition in Nigeria. Through the processing of primary data, the paper examines this reinvention of Igbo nationalism. It looks at its linkage with the 1999 democratic transition in Nigeria, its implications and management by the government. The paper concludes that the renewed demand for Biafra is caused by perception of inequities and injustice in the distribution of power and resources among the Igbo. Hence a deliberate effort to correct these social problems can assuage ethnic tensions and presumption of political violence in Nigeria.     

Addressing the Burden of Education Financing in Low and Lower-Middle-Income Countries: The Role of Savings Accounts,Cash Transfers,and Other Income Sources

Journal of Family and Economic Issues - Cost-sharing between governments and families remains a strategic part of many governments’ post-secondary education funding policies in low-income...     

Horizontal plane sound source localization and auditory enhancement

Accurate sound source localization has advantages for the performance of work by humans. The ability to accurately localize sound sources contributes to perception, decision making and task performance. Two studies were conducted to investigate the prevalence of accurate sound source localization and the enhancement that spatially separated sound source locations can have on speech perception. The first study was conducted to characterize the ability to detect the location of horizontal plane sound sources. A sample of 117 participants with the hearing capacity within the normal limits participated in the study. The results indicated that sound sources located towards the front of the participant were identified more frequently than those sound sources located towards the rear positions. Based on the results found in the first study, a second study was conducted to assess performance within a listening task. Three different spatial configurations were used to assess if similar trends in performance translated to sound sources through headphones. Fifteen research participants performed a Coordinated Response Measure (CRM) task requiring the identification of a speech phrase and its associated information for a diotic configuration and two different spatial sound source configurations. Performance measured for the diotic configuration was significantly (p(0.05) less than for the two spatial configurations. The current studies indicate distinct advantages of utilizing localized sound sources to present auditory signal and speech to listeners.