Erwiderung zu den Anmerkungen von Udo Terstege zum Beitrag „Die Haftung des Wirtschaftsprüfers am Primär-und am Sekundärmarkt — eine rechtsökonomische Analyse“

Insgesamt sind die Anmerkungen von Terstege wenig stichhaltig. Der erste Kritikpunkt ist in seinem Kern unzutreffend. Dennoch kommt Terstege zur gleichen Aussage, dass nicht der volle schaden der gesch?digten Massstab für das Design von haftungsregeln für Wirtschaftsprüfer sein sollte. Der zweite Kritikpunkt ist technisch korrekt, ?ndert aber nichts an den ?konomischen Aussagen unseres Beitrags. Die Berücksichtigung dieses Kritikpunkts in unserem Artikel würde das Modell deutlich verkomplizieren, aber zu keinen anderen Aussagen führen. Die grundthese unseres Papiers, dass die haftung für Wirtschaftsprüfer an Prim?rm?rkten sch?rfer als an sekund?rm?rkten sein sollte, wird überhaupt nicht aufgegriffen. Auch werden unsere Vorschl?ge zur Korrektur einer eventuellen überabschreckung am sekund?rmarkt (siehe Bigus/Sch?fer, 2007, s. 29–36) nicht diskutiert.     

Fehlermultiplikation und Pfadabhängigkeit

Secondary analyses, i.e. analyses of data which were not collected for this purpose and/or not by these people, are widely used due to their outstanding advantages. However, their methodological implications are seldom discussed. The widespread secondary use of few data sets has implications for the published knowledge base of the discipline. Known and unknown biases and random error in a particular data set are multiplied in published knowledge. The realm of undetected errors increases if data producer and data user are separated. Furthermore available data sets limit the possibility of introducing new concepts resulting in a path dependency of scientific progress. Consequently, primary data should be valued; using only partly appropriate data sets can improve and validate our knowledge; data sets have to be considered in literature reviews; and indirect measurement or additional macro variables may be used to integrate unconventional concepts. User conferences help closing the gap between data producers and users.     

Paradoxien und Eiert?nze um Wertsch?tzung in Organisationen

This text answers to the critique by Ferdinand Buer on our article ??The Function of the Lack of Appreciation in Organizations??. Those who just read Buer??s text might get an impression of our point of view that was neither articulated nor intended by the authors. Therefore possible misunderstandings are corrected. Furthermore an understanding of organizations that expects paradoxes as normal is promoted.     

Die Fallstricke der Bibliometrie

The bibliometric evaluation of sociology departments conducted by Litzenberger und Sternberg provides an instructive example of the dangers hidden in the application of bibliometric methods. According to the state of bibliometric art, the methodology proposed by Litzenberger and Sternberg is not applicable for fundamental reasons. The discussion of some technical problems highlights the difficulties of using the standard instruments offered by the Institute of Scientific Information.     

Antwortlatenzzeiten in der survey-basierten Verhaltensforschung

The article reports about an empirical investigation on three moderator hypotheses claiming that the mode of information processing acts as a moderator for all effects specified by the “theory of reasoned action” (TRA) to explain behavioural intentions and actual behaviour. Our empirical research uses data of a 2005 German nationwide CATI-survey. When analyzing this data by estimating structural equation models we could detect the moderating function of response latencies. All the effects of behavioural attitudes and behavioural intentions specified by the TRA were moderated significantly when the model was used to explain intended and actual money donations. However, the TRA-effect of subjective norms was not infected by the mode of information processing. Our results show that classical models of attitude-behaviour research (e.g. TRA-model) can be improved theoretically and empirically by concepts developed in process models of attitude research (e.g. MODE-model).     

Buying used products for remanufacturing: negotiating or posted pricing

Product reclamation is a critical process in remanufacturing. It is generally assumed in the literature that customers simply want to get rid of their used products without expecting any compensation for them. Some authors have only recently started looking into firms that offer a posted (fixed) price for them. Following recent reports suggesting that customers are increasingly open to bargaining, we compare using a posted price and bargaining to obtain used products. In our analysis, we consider an original manufacturer acting as a monopolist as well as a manufacturer and an independent remanufacturer acting in a duopoly. We analytically show that bargaining is always beneficial to the monopoly manufacturer. In the duopoly case, we distinguish a Cournot competition and a market with the manufacturer as Stackelberg leader. The results of a numerical study show that both firms will use posted pricing in the Cournot competition, especially if bargaining is not costless. By contrast, the remanufacturer can significantly increase his profit by using negotiations if he is the Stackelberg follower.     

Synergistic effect of social support and self-efficacy on physical exercise in older adults

The purpose of the current study was to examine whether the effects of social support on physical exercise in older adults depend on individual perceptions of self-efficacy. Three hundred nine older German adults (age 65-85) were assessed at 3 points in time (3 months apart). In hierarchical-regression analyses, support received from friends and exercise self-efficacy were specified as predictors of exercise frequency while baseline exercise, sex, age, and physical functioning were controlled for. Besides main effects of self-efficacy and social support, an interaction between social support and self-efficacy emerged. People with low self-efficacy were less likely to be active in spite of having social support. People with low support were less likely to be active even if they were high in self-efficacy. This points to the importance of both social support and self-efficacy and implies that these resources could be targets of interventions to increase older adults' exercise.     

In the Triangle of Civil Society,Politics, and Economy: Positioning Magazines of Nonprofit Organizations

Nonprofit organizations, though rooted in civil society and primarily committed to value rationality, must work legitimately to influence political and economic systems. To a certain degree, therefore, they must adapt to the purposive logic of power and money. This study analyzes the way in which nonprofit organizational communications respond to such tensions, using a nationwide survey of editors-in-chief responsible for magazines issued by nonprofit organizations in Switzerland as the empirical basis. These magazines often function as steering tools targeted toward members, following the logic of power and there is less danger of them being “colonized” by economic logic. The results indicate that large organizations that rely on paid staff tend to cut their ties with civil society and the “lifeworlds” of their members.