Diaspora Ownership and Homeland Firms' Internationalization

Although the contribution of diaspora to international business is becoming more evident, little is known about the channels used by individual firms to benefit from diaspora. In this paper, we propose equity ownership as a form of connection between the homeland firms and diasporans (i.e. diaspora members). Specifically, we draw on the literature on diaspora combined with an owners-as-resources perspective to theorize about how diaspora owners can affect the homeland firm's internationalization. We suggest that the anticipated entry costs deriving from the liability of foreignness faced by homeland firms explain how the impact of diaspora owners varies depending on entry mode. Finally, we compare diaspora owners to other types of foreign owner which we argue have lower levels of motivation and ability to help homeland firms to internationalize, and contribute relatively less to their internationalization than diaspora owners. We test and confirm our predictions using data on 2608 domestically controlled Indian firms and their internationalization in 2006–2012.     

Two Means Together? Effects of Response Bias and Sensitivity on Communicative Action Detection

Numerous lines of research suggest that communicative dyadic actions elicit preferential processing and more accurate detection compared to similar but individual actions. However, it is unclear whether the presence of the second agent provides additional cues that allow for more accurate discriminability between communicative and individual intentions or whether it lowers the threshold for perceiving third-party encounters as interactive. We performed a series of studies comparing the recognition of communicative actions from single and dyadic displays in healthy individuals. A decreased response threshold for communicative actions was observed for dyadic vs. single-agent animations across all three studies, providing evidence for the dyadic communicative bias. Furthermore, consistent with the facilitated recognition hypothesis, congruent response to a communicative gesture increased the ability to accurately interpret the actions. In line with dual-process theory, we propose that both mechanisms may be perceived as complementary rather than competitive and affect different stages of stimuli processing.

     

Governance, management and performance in public networks: How to be successful in shared-governance networks

This paper compares four cases and explores the effects on network performance of network governance, coordination mechanisms, and the abilities of the network manager. The focus is on shared-governance networks, which are in general considered to have difficulties achieving high-level performances. The cross-case comparison suggests a relationship between coordination mechanisms and the way shared-governance networks are managed: in order to be successful, they must be able to rely on formalized mechanisms and make a pool of “network administrators” responsible for their governance.     

Inferactive data analysis

We describe inferactive data analysis, so-named to denote an interactive approach to data analysis with an emphasis on inference after data analysis. Our approach is a compromise between Tukey's exploratory and confirmatory data analysis allowing also for Bayesian data analysis. We see this as a useful step in concrete providing tools (with statistical guarantees) for current data scientists. The basis of inference we use is (a conditional approach to) selective inference, in particular its randomized form. The relevant reference distributions are constructed from what we call a DAG-DAG—a Data Analysis Generative DAG, and a selective change of variables formula is crucial to any practical implementation of inferactive data analysis via sampling these distributions. We discuss a canonical example of an incomplete cross-validation test statistic to discriminate between black box models, and a real HIV dataset example to illustrate inference after making multiple queries on data.     

The trinity of wage setting in EMU: A policy proposal

Diverging labor cost developments are often considered to be one of the most important factors that led to large current account imbalances in the euro area (EA) in the run-up to the global financial crisis. It has also been shown that wage growth differentials have significantly lowered the co-movement of EA countries’ business cycles – the most widely used meta-criterion for optimum currency areas. Against this background, this paper develops a wage-setting benchmark that aims to keep the economy in internal equilibrium and to maintain price stability, while it also exhibits the capacity to correct for external imbalances. The proposed wage benchmark is very simple and may serve as an anchor for the macroeconomic dialogue in Economic and Monetary Union. In order to demonstrate the potentially beneficial effects of such a wage benchmark we present some simulations showing how current account balances and labor costs would have developed across EA countries if the rule had served as a benchmark already in the run up to the crisis.     

Social policies related to parenthood and capabilities of Slovenian parents

We apply Sen's capability approach to evaluate the capabilities of Slovenian parents to reconcile paid work and family in the context of the transition to a market economy. We examine how different levels of capabilities together affect the work–life balance (WLB) of employed parents. We combine both quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches. The results of our quantitative and qualitative research show that increased precariousness of employment and intensification of work create gaps between the legal and normative possibilities for successful reconciliation strategies and actual use of such arrangements in Slovenia. The existing social policies and the acceptance of gender equality in the sphere of paid work enhance capabilities for reconciliation of paid work and parenthood, whereas the intensification of working lives, the dominance of paid work over other parts of life, and the acceptance of gender inequalities in parental and household responsibilities limit parents’ capabilities to achieve WLB.     

A Case of Enhancing Sexual Confidence: Both the Client and the Therapist Are the Experts

This case study demonstrates the challenges and possibilities of working on a sexual relationship with a single client and provides an example of integration of sex therapy within the ethical and theoretical framework of a collaborative systemic approach. It illustrates the author's view on the therapeutic relationship involving the expertise of both the client and the therapist. A model for integration of systemic approach and sex therapy is proposed.     

Essentialist Beliefs About Homosexuality Predict Positive and Negative Behavioral Intentions Toward Lesbian Women and Gay Men

This study focuses on essentialist beliefs about homosexuality as determinants of discriminatory intentions against gay men and lesbian women (LG) and the readiness to engage in positive action toward them. A sample of 997 exclusively heterosexual adults participated in an online study set in Croatia, a country with high homophobia undergoing social change that threatens the higher status of the heterosexual majority. Beliefs about immutability and universality of homosexuality were associated with less intention to discriminate and more readiness to engage in positive behavior, while discreteness beliefs were inversely related to both. Furthermore, attitudes toward LGs seem to be the mechanism behind the observed links. Results suggest essentialist beliefs might be fuel for attitudes, which are in turn associated with behavioral intentions. Importantly, essentialist beliefs had both indirect (with attitudes as mediators) and direct effects on behavioral intentions speaking in favor of their robust role in explaining LG-related phenomena.