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In the equatorial Pacific, rainfall is affected by global climate phenomena, such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, current publicly available methodologies for valuing weather derivatives do not account for the influence of ENSO. The purpose of this paper is to develop a complete framework suitable for valuing rainfall derivatives in the equatorial Pacific.

In this paper, we implement a Markov chain for the occurrence of rain and a gamma model for the conditional quantities using vector generalized linear models (VGLM). The ENSO forecast probabilities reported by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) are included as independent variables using different alternatives. We then employ the Esscher transform to price rainfall derivatives.

The methodology is applied and calibrated using the historical rainfall data collected at the El Dorado airport weather station in Bogotá. All the estimated coefficients turn out to be significant. The results prove more accurate than those of Markovian gamma models based on purely statistical descriptions of the daily rainfall probabilities.

This procedure introduces the novelty of incorporating variables related to the climatic phenomena, which are the forecast probabilities regularly published for the occurrence of El Niño and La Niña.

The purpose of this study is to generate knowledge about assessment methods in blended business education, which have become increasingly important to establish sustainable assessment practices that support knowledge acquisition for undergraduate students in business administration at a Colombian university.

For the analysis, a two groups comparison was performed using a nonequivalent control group design with a sample of 420 students. As this study wants to find insights to improve the knowledge on assessment topics in marketing research (MR) education, it was focused on the students from the business administration program. This study also uses individual scores from the state test as prior cognitive scores and the high school classification provided by the National Ministry of Education in Colombia (2012).

It was found that the variables that best predict performance on the MR course examinations were the mathematics skills and reading comprehension scores on the state test. The study also showed a better performance of female students on both assessment methods. There were no significant differences between the assessment methods or among the high school levels.

One of the limitations of this study is the limited number of items on the tests. Additionally, the authors recommend conducting an analysis of the differences between the testing items to provide a detailed explanation of students’ performance when comparing computer-based testing and paper-and-pencil testing.

Further design of teaching material and assessments online and offline, based on local and regional marketing problems, is suggested. As the current text and readings are more oriented to the English-speaking contexts, most of the problems presented are oriented to multinational companies and brands.

Insights into the skills required for future jobs provide valuable guidance (World Economic Forum, 2020). Essential skills for emerging roles, like data scientists, can find robust support within the MR course. To further enrich in-class and online exercises with Excel and SPSS, Colombian educators can leverage data sets obtained from sources like the national statistics office and international market intelligence databases available through the university’s library, including Passport and Statista. Engaging with authentic data sets provides students with a more profound understanding of practical applications in MR.

This approach facilitates the identification of key variables, such as assessment and cognitive abilities in math and reading, which predict students’ knowledge acquisition in MR. It not only offers insights into the relevant factors influencing learning in MR but also provides valuable feedback. Additionally, it suggests potential avenues for future research in this field.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of banks in enhancing consumer knowledge aiming to increasing customer’s financial well-being.

This research applied two quantitative studies with customers of banks in a Latin American country. The literature review and the results of the data analysis founded the development of a model that relates bank information transparency and subjective financial well-being through consumer financial knowledge.

By being transparent banks may transform the financial well-being of their customers. Particularly, this paper shows that consumer financial knowledge mediates the relationship between bank information transparency and the subjective financial well-being of individuals. However, the mediational effect occurs by subjective but not objective financial knowledge.

The mediational model of this research does not take in consideration the role that individual factors play in the exposition and processing of the information provided by banks and its final impact on the subjective well-being of individuals. Also, this paper does not explore potential moderators of the theoretical relationships neither include cultural variables in the analysis.

Firm transparency has been related to various constructs in the marketing literature; however, its impact on consumer financial well-being is under-researched. This paper shows that companies need to aim to increase the subjective financial knowledge of their customers as a way to improve ultimate well-being of their customers.

The paper aims at identifying the main social media applications used by new technology based‐firms (NTBFs) and at calculating the volume of followers they have in each application. It also focuses on the amount of activity generated by the firms in those social networks, identifying the key thematic content of their social media activity, analyzing the ability to create dialogue with their stakeholders and clarifying which style of communication they use.

The paper presents an exploratory study of the use of social media tools by NTBFs, located in Spanish Science Parks, as an important resource network for firms in the corresponding sector. A total of 432 new technology‐based firms were analyzed to identify which social media applications are more frequently used, as well as to establish the number of followers they registered in the month of February, 2012.

The results contribute towards a better understanding of how firms monitor public perception of their brand, products, and services in real time. The main conclusion of this study is the low presence of technology‐based firms in the five social media applications analyzed herein.

The main limitations of this study are related to the time period analyzed, given that the authors just observed one month of a year, which can lead to distortions regarding the activity of firms throughout the year.

The paper includes implications for the need of businesses to develop communication strategies focused on social media, which are designed to enable the development of a dialogue with stakeholders and allow firms to implement a communication strategy based on the principles of relational marketing.

This paper fulfils an identified need to study thoroughly how firms use social media.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the determinants of internet banking use, paying special attention to the role of product involvement, perceived risk and trust.

The impact of trust, perceived risks, product involvement and TAM beliefs (ease of use and usefulness) on internet banking adoption is tested through structural equation modelling techniques. The sample consists of 511 Spanish internet banking services users and the data are collected through an internet survey. Risk is measured as a formative construct.

Data analysis shows that TAM beliefs and perceived risks (security, privacy, performance and social) have a direct influence on e‐banking adoption. Trust appears as a key variable that reduces perceived risk. Involvement plays an important role in increasing perceived ease of use.

This research provides banks with knowledge of what aspects to highlight in their communications strategies to increase their internet banking services adoption rates. The research findings show managers that web contents and design are key tools to increase internet banking services adoption. Practical recommendations to increase web usefulness and trust, and guidelines to reduce perceived risk dimensions are also provided.

Despite the importance of trust issues and risk perceptions for internet banking adoption, only limited work has been done to identify trust and risk dimensions in an online banking context. We have evaluated the impact of each risk dimension instead of treating risk as a whole. Furthermore, risk has been measured as a formative construct because there is no reason to expect that risk dimensions in online financial services are correlated.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how consumer innovativeness can be used as a variable to positively influence internet banking adoption both directly and reducing consumer perceived risk.

The impact of innovativeness and risk on internet banking adoption has been tested through structural equation modelling techniques. The sample consists of 511 Spanish internet banking services users accessed through an internet survey. Risk has been measured as a formative construct.

Results reveals consumer innovativeness as a key construct to improve e‐banking adoption both directly and by its effective role in reducing consumer risk perception of using internet channel in the financial services context.

Practical guidelines are provided to bank managers on how to use consumer innovativeness level as a segmentation variable to increase the use of internet banking among actual customers who are non users or light users of the electronic channel.

There is a lack of studies which connect consumer innovativeness and perceived risk in the electronic commerce context and specially on e‐banking research. Formative configuration of risk is quite an innovative approach to measure this construct.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the disciplines and thematic study of scientific production in police training over the period 1988-2012.

Introduction and homogenization of keywords and assigning of descriptors to documents, thematic categorization of journals and, analysis of indicators of productivity and relationship of descriptors and thematic areas has been the used methodology.

Totally, 59 different descriptors of a total of 585 assigned to the 182 articles that were published in 95 journals belonging into 20 different subject areas have been identified. The most frequent descriptors are “skills,” “management development” and “violence” and the main thematic areas have been “Criminology and Penology” and “Psychology”. Totally, 47 relationships between 30 descriptors in more than two works, 35 relationships between 20 thematic areas and, 78 relationships between 43 descriptors and eight subject areas in more than two articles have been identified.

Characterize the disciplines and thematic of study of the articles and journals in the scientific production on police training, as well as to identify the relationships between descriptors, subject areas and among these.

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the provision of non-audit services (NAS) by public accounting firms undermines audit quality. The study addresses this question by testing for an association between the provision of consulting services and auditor independence in listed companies.

The authors study if the magnitude of non-audit fees explains variations in earnings management by looking at the joint determination of non-audit fees, audit fees, and abnormal accruals using the SURE-regression estimation method.

Evidence from tested models suggests that audit services quality is uncompromised by the provision of NAS. In other words, high non-audit fees do not necessarily result in poor quality financial reporting.

A different research methodology and a different sample (e.g. non-listed companies) may lead to differing results. As the paper analyses only one country, generalizability of the results might be a limitation. There is no need to increase legal restrictions on the provision of consulting services by public accounting firms in order to better safeguard audit quality.

Consulting clients may be more confident to hire both audit and NAS with the same firm and can make a case before the general Shareholders’ meeting. By providing both audit and NAS, consulting firms obtain knowledge spillovers and synergies while appealing highly qualified professionals.

The use of simultaneous equations (SURE-regression) to establish the auditor-client relation allows us to better model theoretical relations between audit fees, non-audit fees, and abnormal accruals. Likewise, joint modeling takes account of correlations between the error terms of the individual models, yielding more efficient estimates than ordinary least squares. Performing this analysis in a non-Anglo-American country with low litigation risk is also a valuable contribution to extant literature.

This paper aims to determine factors that have an influence on human resource management and entrepreneurial success in the context of European innovative small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

A primary test questionnaire was tested with 50 Spanish entrepreneurs. The feedback from this study was used to improve the survey for a final test. Multivariate regression analysis was used to differentiate the factors that allow the explanation of the variables to be studied and factors that, a priori, seem to be the most relevant in explaining entrepreneurial success.

The study allows the determination of what factors make the European entrepreneur successful on his or her business.

Limitations are the sample used in the study and the magnitude used to analyse entrepreneurial success. Future research on the topic of the paper can develop and qualify the variables used.

European innovative small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are analysed from countries belonging to the European Union to determine the factors that have an influence on human resource management and entrepreneurial success. The results of the paper serve as a tool to develop a model to predict relevant factors of entrepreneurial activity and which have implications for development policy makers and for entrepreneurs.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the production and global scientific collaboration of research in police training from 1987 until 2011.

Selecting databases, design of search strategy, download of bibliographic records, treatment of the bibliographic information, bibliometric analysis, identification of research groups and collaborative networks of institutions and countries has been the used methodology.

Of all 1,928 papers reviewed by experts, 155 articles were related directly with police training with an average of 2.59 signatures per work, with 66.45 percent of articles signed in coauthorship. It is noted that in recent years there has been an increase in signatures and works. Articles published are distributed in journals of heterogeneous character associated to police training such as criminology, psychology, psychiatry, health or education. A significant amount of research is captained from a university scope, sometimes in collaboration with police institutions. Collaboration between members of the same institution and between institutions in the same country are predominant.

To characterize the scientific production of the journals, authors, institutions and countries in the area of police training, as well as to identify the collaboration networks of authors, institutions and countries within the area.