Assessment of dispersal and population structure of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) in a seaport setting

Seaports are introduction hotspots for invasive alien species (IAS). This is especially true for rodents, which have accompanied humans around the globe since the earliest days of ocean-going voyages. The rapid spread of IAS soon after arrival in a new environment is facilitated by further human-mediated transport or landscape features, like roads. By measuring genetic diversity and structure to investigate dispersal pathways, we gained insight into the transport, spread and establishment stages of a biological invasion, leveraging the most common rodent species (R. norvegicus) in this setting. We characterized the genetic structure of three Norway rat populations along a busy industrial road used by trucks to access the Port area in Paranaguá city (Brazil). A total of 71 rats were genotyped using 11 microsatellite markers. The results revealed a pattern of gene flow contrary to the expected stepping-stone model along the linear transect, with the two furthest apart populations being clustered together. We hypothesize that the observed outcome is explained by natural dispersal along the corridor being lower than human-mediated transport. The sampled area furthest from the port is a gas station frequented by trucks which are considered the most likely mode of transportation. In terms of management strategies, we suggest more emphasis should be put on cargo surveillance to lower the risk of Norway rat dispersal, not only for biosecurity, but also for sanitary reasons, as this port is a major grain trading point.

     

The effect of framing on the choice of co-payment policies, reducing moral hazard and post-choice-evaluation

This study analyses the impact of two financially equivalent frames of a co-payment policy on the choice between a co-payment policy and one with full cost recovery. It also examines the incentive effect of the co-payment and the post-choice evaluation on the pay-offs in case of unexpected losses, using the example of health insurance. Two experimental studies form the context for an empirical investigation of the theoretical considerations. We examine the framing-related effects of a rebate compared to a premium reduction frame of a co-payment policy. The results confirm that a rebate frame has a positive effect on the intention to choose a co-payment policy. The intention to avoid claims in the premium reduction frame is greater than in the rebate frame. In case of unexpected losses because of high insurance claims, the rebate frame results in less dissatisfaction and causes fewer regret effects. The results support the theoretical considerations that insurance companies should account for these differences and design their co-payment policies according their priorities, either with a rebate or a premium reduction frame.     

Reference compensation: a transfer of reference price theory to human resource management

The topics of compensation in human resource management and pricing in marketing theory both involve a monetary component that is important for companies to manage. While the role that price perceptions play for consumers is the subject of the well-established reference price theory, human resource management theory lacks any related concept for the compensation perceptions held by employees. This paper transfers reference price theory to HR management in the form of reference compensation, conceptualized as an individual’s compensation norm, including normative and predictive compensation expectations. Possible measures to influence employees’ reference compensation are suggested and avenues for further establishing the concepts in research and practice are developed. As a first empirical attempt to support the relevance of the concept, we present results of an exploratory study among 88 part-time students. We show that employees apply references when judging compensation, and that the applied references vary with different employment situations.     

Jakarta: Environmental problems and sustainability

Jakarta is on the way to become a “world city”, but to classify in this regard, it needs to be more than the size of the metropolis but it should be enlightened management, the kind of services the city offers to ensure a balanced economic, social, political and environmental development; thus, criteria which would indicate its social, economic and environmental “sustainability” and quality of life. The recent years have shown Jakarta's current management to evolve as promoter of centennial projects like the modernization of the center, the establishment of an integrated public transport system, the redevelopment of the waterfront and a new harbor, the conservation of the Old City, and creation of a few gentrified public parks. While these grand projects are still in the making, many infrastructure and environmental problems still continue to prevail, and there is substantial concern about the pro-rich and anti-poor policies which are being pursued, while Jakarta pretends to make the quantum jump to a modern city.     

Realisierung von Cross-Selling Potenzialen durch das Management von kundeninitiierten Kontakten

Existing research has not sufficiently addressed the question of how to cross-sell additional products and services to customers and what the behavioral consequences of cross-selling are. Moreover, these cross-selling-related questions have not been investigated in the context of customer-initiated contacts.The contribution of the paper is the empirical analysis of metrics which can be used to predict cross-selling success, e.g., in a call-center. The results show that two metrics, namely first contact resolution and reason for contact, significantly predict cross-selling success. Another contribution is the analysis of behavioral consequences. Here the results show that usage intensity significantly increases the time directly after the cross-selling took place but relapses to the original level within a few weeks.The results of the study can be used to derive managerial implications for managing and controlling cross-selling initiatives and for increasing and stabilizing cash-flows.     

Management und Marketing ferngesteuerter Dienstleistungen: Konzeptionelle Verortung, betriebswirtschaftliche Herausforderungen und k??nftige Forschungsaufgaben

The possibilities of service delivery have expanded vastly over the last years, mainly due to the rapid development of information and communication technologies. Modern forms of data transmission enable a technologically mediated delivery of a broad spectrum of services over great distances. These ??remote services?? gain more and more importance in business, yet have only attracted little attention in academic research so far. This overview article captures the state-of-the-art of research in this field and starts laying the groundwork for a thorough discussion of economically relevant aspects of remote services. Based on a definition and conceptualization of this new service type that considers current service typology, this article identifies specific challenges for management and marketing of remote services and deduces an agenda for future research.     

The Risk of a Mortality Catastrophe

We develop a continuous-time model for analyzing and valuing catastrophe mortality contingent claims based on stochastic modeling of the force of mortality. We derive parameter estimates from a 105-year time series of U.S. population mortality data using a simulated maximum likelihood approach based on a particle filter. Relying on the resulting parameters, we calculate loss profiles for a representative catastrophe mortality transaction and compare them to the “official” loss profiles that are provided by the issuers to investors and rating agencies. We find that although the loss profiles are subject to great uncertainties, the official figures fall significantly below the corresponding risk statistics based on our model. In particular, we find that the annualized incidence probability of a mortality catastrophe, defined as a 15% increase in aggregated mortality probabilities, is about 1.4%—compared to about 0.1% according to the official loss profiles.     

Measuring social trust and trusting the measure

Decades of rigorous quantitative scholarship have generated a wealth of knowledge regarding the causes and consequences of crossnational variations in social trust. However, while some social science disciplines have made significant contributions to this conversation, others have largely failed to do so. The field of international relations, for example, has lagged behind in producing aggregate-level scholarship on social trust. This is surprising given that (1) trust influences public opinion and thereby the incentive structure for political leaders and (2) many peacebuilding efforts directly target the levels of trust in post-conflict settings. Country-level trust scholarship in international relations and the social sciences more generally is hampered by data scarcity. The main purpose of this article is to present a new publicly available data set on aggregate levels of social trust. Relying on a set of 19 widely accepted correlates, we construct a new cross-sectional measure of the concept that covers all countries from 1946 to 2010. We then perform a series of empirical tests establishing the validity of our measure. Finally, we offer a number of bivariate analyses to demonstrate the broad utility of our new variable for scholars in the social sciences.     

Adaptive graph‐based multiple testing procedures

Multiple testing procedures defined by directed, weighted graphs have recently been proposed as an intuitive visual tool for constructing multiple testing strategies that reflect the often complex contextual relations between hypotheses in clinical trials. Many well‐known sequentially rejective tests, such as (parallel) gatekeeping tests or hierarchical testing procedures are special cases of the graph based tests. We generalize these graph‐based multiple testing procedures to adaptive trial designs with an interim analysis. These designs permit mid‐trial design modifications based on unblinded interim data as well as external information, while providing strong family wise error rate control. To maintain the familywise error rate, it is not required to prespecify the adaption rule in detail. Because the adaptive test does not require knowledge of the multivariate distribution of test statistics, it is applicable in a wide range of scenarios including trials with multiple treatment comparisons, endpoints or subgroups, or combinations thereof. Examples of adaptations are dropping of treatment arms, selection of subpopulations, and sample size reassessment. If, in the interim analysis, it is decided to continue the trial as planned, the adaptive test reduces to the originally planned multiple testing procedure. Only if adaptations are actually implemented, an adjusted test needs to be applied. The procedure is illustrated with a case study and its operating characteristics are investigated by simulations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Die Wirkung ausländischer Direktinvestitionen auf die Beschäftigung im Heimatmarkt: Eine empirische Analyse des deutschen Mittelstands

Outbound FDI of German SMEs is often assumed to have a negative impact on domestic employment due to job replacement into low wage countries. In this context research often disregards, that FDI can be of horizontal or vertical nature and therefore has different effects on domestic employment. We analyze domestic employment effects using a sample of 1.106 German SMEs. The results show, that a differentiated view is appropriate and necessary to generate a more complete picture of the effects of FDI on job development in the domestic market. Whereas horizontal FDI has complementary effects on domestic employment, vertical FDI is linked to substitutional employment effects.