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The purpose of this paper is to present a novel application of cluster theory and cluster methodology to evaluate large infrastructure investments. The complementing clusters approach, which builds on the notion of infrastructure as connecting isolated “economic islands”, is able to assess the potential for value creation effects of new infrastructure investment.

The author uses simulation analysis based on a unique data set encompassing all employees and employers, as well as cluster mapping, for every pair of “economic islands” being connected by the examined infrastructure investments. The empirical setting is of large fjord crossings in Western Norway, the so-called E39 project.

The empirical findings show that productivity gains are higher when an integrated labor market hosting complementary clusters is formed. Limitations remain regarding the economic integration path.

The authors provide an ex-ante analysis using information over the past 10 years. Following the expected infrastructure investments, future research should examine the extent to which productivity gains materialized and the reasons underlying the achieved materialization levels.

Current evaluation of large infrastructure investments focuses on transportation economics effects, technical feasibility and environmental consequences. The authors complement this current practice by advancing a theoretically grounded value creation perspective that can affect future evaluation practices.

Cluster complementarity-based evaluation is a novel methodology that is applicable to investment decisions which are central for economic development. Cluster analysis of infrastructure investments provides new and valuable data for making such investments decisions.

The overall objective of this research was to elucidate the ecosystem of women’s health social enterprises (WHSEs) based in the United States. The Aim I was to conduct a secondary data analysis of a random national sample of non-profit WHSEs based in the United States regarding their characteristics and areas of intervention. Aim II was to conduct a qualitative assessment of a sample of WHSEs based in the United States regarding their perspectives on the ecosystem of WHSEs. Aim I utilized the GuideStar database and assessed enterprise size, geographic location, financial distress, health intervention area, and health activity category using descriptive statistics, statistical tests, and multivariable regression analysis via SPSS. Aim II utilized in-depth interviewing and grounded theory analysis via MAXQDA 2018 to identify novel themes and core categories while using an established framework for mapping social enterprise ecosystems as a scaffold.

Aim I findings suggest that WHSE activity is more predominant in the south region of the United States but not geographically concentrated around cities previously identified as social enterprise hubs. WHSEs take a comprehensive approach to women’s health, often simultaneously focusing on multiple areas of health interventions. Although most WHSEs demonstrate a risk for financial distress, very few exhibited severe risk. Risk for financial distress was not significantly associated with any of the measured enterprise characteristics. Aim II generated four core categories of findings that describe the ecosystem of WHSE: (1) comprehensive, community-based, and culturally adaptive care; (2) interdependent innovation in systems, finances, and communication; (3) interdisciplinary, cross-enterprise collaboration; and (4) women’s health as the foundation for family and population health. These findings are consistent with the three-failures theory for non-profit organizations, particularly that WHSEs address government failure by focusing on the unmet women’s health needs of the underserved populations (in contrast to the supply of services supported by the median voter) and address the market failure of over exclusion through strategies such as cross-subsidization and price discrimination. While WHSEs operate with levels of financial risk and are subject to the voluntary sector failure of philanthropic insufficiency, the data also show that they act to remediate other threats of voluntary failure.

Aim I findings highlight the importance of understanding financial performance of WHSEs. Also, lack of significant associations between our assessed enterprise characteristics and their financial risk suggests need for additional research to identify factors that influence financial performance of WHSE. Aim II findings show that WHSEs are currently engaged in complex care coordination and comprehensive biopsychosocial care for women and their families, suggesting that these enterprises may serve as a model for improving women’s health and health care. The community-oriented and interdisciplinary nature of WHSE as highlighted by our study may also serve as a unique approach for research and education purposes. Additional research on the ecosystem of WHSE is needed in order to better inform generalizability of our findings and to elucidate how WHSE interventions may be integrated into policies and practices to improve women’s health.

In this paper, the authors aim to introduce the notion of region of origin effect and articulate why home region boundaries should be factored in when understanding firm strategy and outcomes.

The paper validates the region of origin effect on internationalization using a sample of 11,677 firms from 99 developing countries in a multilevel model, with both frequentist and Bayesian approaches.

The findings of this paper indicate consistent support for the notion of region of origin effect. The relative importance of direct region effects in explaining variation in firm internationalization was found to be 17.8 per cent. When indirect effects (i.e. varying slopes) were factored in, the relative importance was 16.6 per cent. Additionally, the findings show that the region of origin effect impacts the degree of strength of the well-established firm drivers of internationalization.

Although the importance of the home region location is well known to researchers and practitioners of international business, it has not received the attention it deserves. The findings of this paper clearly demonstrate the need for researchers and practitioners to recognize the role of the region of origin effect in formulating and implementing global strategies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every community across the globe, but the global COVID-19 data show that the United States remains the most affected country where well over 666,000 people died, and approximately 40 million citizens became ill due to the virus' spread by mid-2021 (CDC, 2021). It is also noteworthy that extreme racial disparities in rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths are high in the United States, specifically among African American population. This situation is particularly evident among African American population in Alabama's Black Belt. Subsequently, COVID-19, racial disparities, and health inequalities have become central to the national and regional conversation. This chapter examines the associations between COVID-19, social determinants of health, and the systematic health disparity in African American population in Alabama's Black Belt region using Geographic Information Systems and the concept of uneven spatial development. Understanding the relationship between COVID-19 and these disparities within a spatial context vital to developing pathways to overcome the pandemic's effects and combat the systemic discrimination in this region. The derived policy recommendation could apply to other regions experiencing social inequality and health disparity.

Corporate social responsibility became a core topic in the management and activity of banks. Being a bidirectional, permanent, updateable and universal access communication channel, the internet contributed to transform the way the organizations report social responsibility to stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the banks use their web sites to disclose their social responsibility concerns and activities.

The globe was divided in 11 regions, according to geographic and cultural criteria. Information was gathered from the corporate web sites of the ten major banks in each region, and their contents were analyzed. Geographic patterns and the correlation to universal development indicators were studied.

The banks disclose on their web sites information on environmental management and socioeconomic programs. Other recurrent themes are the support to education, fight against corruption, workers’ welfare, corporate ethics and the existence of codes of conduct. There are geographic patterns in the quantity and detail of the information provided, as well as in the themes mentioned. The banks located in Europe, the American continent, and Oceania, are those who disclose more information. This confirms that the disclosure of social responsibility by the banks is larger and more detailed according to the development indexes of the country where they operate.

The work studies the disclosure on the internet of information on social responsibility by the banks, being the first work to do it at the world level. This way, it provides a significant contribution to identify the themes that are more often disclosed and to establish comparisons between geographic areas.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impacts of quota elimination on the world clothing trade.

Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was undertaken based on trade statistics of 51 clothing exporters from 2000 to 2009 provided by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

First, exporters’ performances in response to quota elimination overall were suggested unequal among countries located in different geographic regions of the world. Second, clothing exporters located in different geographic regions were suggested having unequal results of compound annual growth rate from 2005 to 2009 and market share changes from 2000 to 2009. Third, it was suggested that European countries were achieving faster clothing export growth from 2005 to 2009 and more market share gains from 2000 to 2009 than the rest of the world; and that China was also achieving more market share gains from 2000 to 2009 than other clothing exporters.

Although China once again was suggested as one of the largest beneficiaries of quota elimination, the paper's findings remind us that neither China's gains nor some other countries’ losses should be exaggerated. The findings also call attention to the influence of geographic location as a key factor shaping the pattern of the world clothing trade in the post‐quota era. Also, the findings suggest special care be given to African clothing exporters in the future.

The paper evaluates the real impacts of quota elimination on the world clothing trade by taking a global perspective based on updated data.

The proceedings of the 17 editions of the conference of the Spanish Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism constitute a valuable archival resource within the research on Spanish tourism. But so far their contents have not been analyzed. The aim of this chapter is to examine the research that has been presented at its conference by means of a bibliometric analysis of the proceedings of 17 editions. The study focuses on the origin of the research (countries, regions, institutions, and authors), as well as its characteristics in terms of themes dealt with, geographical areas researched, methodologies, disciplinary areas, and attitudes toward tourism. Implications for the evolution of the research are discussed in terms of knowledge contributions and the shaping of major tourism research traditions.

This paper aims to build a predictive model for the investment yield of British banking-halls.

Empirical data of similar lots sold at previous auctions are subjected to statistical analyses utilizing a cross-sectional research design. The independent variables analysed are taken from a previous study using the same cases. Models are built using logistic regression and ANCOVA.

Logistic regression generally generates better models than ANCOVA. A division of Britain on a north/south divide produces the best results. Rent is as good as lot size and price in modelling, but has greater utility, because it is known prior to auctions.

Cases analysed were restricted to lots let entirely as banking-halls. Other lots comprising premises only partially used as banking-halls might produce different results. Freehold was the only tenure tested.

The study provides a form of predictive modelling for investors and their advisors using rent which is known in advance of any sale.

The study makes an original contribution to the field, because it builds a predictive model for investment yields for this class of property. Further research may indicate if similar predictive models can be built for other classes of investment property.

Our study explores friction costs in terms of competition and market structure, considering factors such as market share, industry leverage levels, industry hedging levels, number of peers, and the geographic concentration that influences reinsurance purchase in the Property and Casualty insurance industry in China. Financial factors that influence the hedging level are also included. The data are hand collected from 2008 to 2015 from the Chinese Insurance Yearbook. Using panel data analysis techniques, the results are interesting. The capital structure shows a significant negative relationship with the hedging level. Group has a negative relationship with reinsurance purchases. Assets exhibit a negative relationship with hedging levels. The hedging level has a negative relation with the individual hedging level. Insurers have less incentive to hedge because it provides less resource than leverage. The study also robustly investigates the strategic risk management separately by the financial crises.