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Shows how a sensitivity analysis of different mobility models was carried out in order to reach the best fit of simulation results to measured data. Simulated data were compared to both electrical (IV‐characteristics) and optical (excess charge carrier distribution) results. The simulations included both steady state and transient investigations on a temperature scale ranging from room temperature up to 150°C. Concerning lifetimes, a two‐trap Shockley‐Read‐Hall (SRH) recombination model was implemented into the simulation code to be able to model the local lifetime variations of the irradiated samples. At high carrier concentration, the overall dominating recombination process is the Auger process. From experimental data the Auger coefficients seem to be concentration dependent too, and in addition, proposes a temperature dependence to the Auger coefficient.

In this paper, we aim to understand why consumers often prefer products made using traditional practices even when products made using new practices are not of lower quality. We argue that this resistance, which we call “production process conservatism,” is heightened when the product is used in the performance of a social ritual.

We develop this argument in the context of diamond jewelry, as consumers have generally been resistant to diamonds that are produced in laboratories, i.e., lab-created diamonds. Hypotheses were tested using experiments conducted with an online sample (Experiment 1) and with an MBA student sample (Experiment 2).

In Experiment 1, we find that married female respondents significantly prefer mined diamonds to lab-created diamonds when they are used as part of an engagement gift as opposed to a more routine gift. In Experiment 2, we find the same effect among women; in addition, the perceived risk associated with the ritual is found to mediate this production process conservatism.

This paper contributes to the understanding of a macrosocial phenomenon – acceptance of an innovation – by examining microinteractive processes in groups.

This paper develops an original theory that when individuals deviate from traditional aspects of rituals, they risk signaling a lack of commitment or cultural competence to the group even when such aspects are not explicitly stated.

The purpose of this article is to describe a method of assessing brand equity quantitatively.

The article describes an example of analysis using publicly available financial data to assess brand equity.

Brand equity measurement has been an elusive goal for product managers. While qualitative definitions are available, few studies have attempted to quantify a product or company's brand equity. Using financial analysis techniques focusing on return on equity and return on assets, the case examines the results of two distinct brand equity growth strategies. The first is growth by acquisition; the second, organic brand development. Using historical financial data for the Safeway corporation, the case calculates the brand equity effects of two distinct marketing strategies. In the example, organic brand development, the traditional task of the brand manager, results in higher brand equity.

As in all case studies, the specific conditions found in one organization may not be found more generally in others. Readers are cautioned that the conclusions drawn may have limited applicability.

The work illustrates a technique that a product/service manager may use to assess the brand equity effects of a marketing strategy.

The work describes a technique not widely publicized in the brand literature.

The study aims to examine the importance of access to finance in firm innovation by using firm-level data from the World Bank enterprise survey (WBES) on selected African countries.

This study utilises firm-level data from the WBES database and computes aggregate innovation index by using multiple correspondent analysis. The authors then apply instrumental variable models (to control for possible endogeneity between innovation and finance) to assess the link between finance and innovation.

The research finds that finance in the form of overdraft overwhelmingly drives innovation in all selected countries – Cameroon, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. Trade credit enhances innovation among firms in Nigeria, South Africa and Cameroon, while asset finance drives innovation amongst firms in Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa.

Policy incentives such as tax breaks could be put in place for financial intermediaries that have shown proof of extending loans to financially constraint firms to enable them to innovate. Furthermore, different financial institutions such as microfinance institutions can be supported to increase credit to enterprises. Partnerships with organisations willing to fund firms and support start-ups should be encouraged. One of such support mechanisms could be specialised schemes such as a credit guarantee scheme to encourage and secure lending to enterprises to promote innovation.

This paper provides empirical insights into how finance enhances innovation in African enterprises. It also shows how different finance structures (overdraft, asset finance and trade credit) affect firm innovation in different African countries.

Provides the first empirical time series analysis of commercial mortgage‐backed securities (CMBS) prices using a proprietary data set of 15 senior tranche securities. Postulates and tests the hypothesis that nonstationary CMBS and corporate bond prices are cointegrated since CMBS are priced analogous to corporate bonds. States that given the emerging status of the CMBS market, price data is limited to less than three years. To overcome the low power of unit root and cointegration methodology for short data sets, appeals to the concept of cointegration in heterogeneous panels advanced by Pedroni (1995). Claims the presence of cointegration between CMBS and corporate bond prices confirms that the stationary first difference in CMBS and corporate bond prices must be modelled in an error correction framework (ECM). Further states the sensitivity of CMBS price changes to changes in the default probability, proxied by the market value of loans to property value, is tested in a simple first order approximation ECM framework. The results suggest that senior tranche CMBS which comprise no more than 70 per cent are immune to the risk from default loss and supports the predictions in Childs et al. (1996).

US marketers know the US standard of ethics. However, that standard can lead to ethical conflict when Americans encounter the emerging market giant, China. As smaller US companies enter China, the potential for ethical conflict increases. Reducing that potential requires knowledge. Knowing the nature and history of the two cultures can lead to an understanding of the foundation of their ethical systems. Ethics and the expectations within cultures affect all business transactions. It is vital for Western marketers to understand the expectations of their counterparts around the world. Understanding the cultural bases for ethical behavior in both the USA and China can arm a marketer with knowledge needed to succeed in cross‐cultural business. Implementing that knowledge with a clear series of managerial guidelines can actualize the value of that understanding.

This study attempts to document the impact of financial leverage on corporate innovation in the Chinese nonfinancial public firms listed on Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges.

The firm-level data are collected from CSMAR database for ten years, ranging from 2007 to 2016. The authors have employed the panel fixed effects model and further system GMM approach for analysis. The sample is segregated on the basis of state (SOE) and nonstate ownership (NSOE) to check for the diverse effects. In total, three different proxies of financial leverage are used to unearth the varying impact of short-time and long-term leverage separately. Further, corporate innovation is divided into input innovation (R&D/Sales and R&D/Assets) and output innovation (patents and inventions).

The results suggest that financial leverage is detrimental to the input innovation while conducive for the output innovation when measured by the number of patents. Contrarily, leverage has a negative influence over the output innovation when measured by the number of inventions. This implies that leverage is more damaging for the highest form of innovativeness (inventions) in China. Input innovation is more sensitive to the changes in long-term leverage versus short-term leverage. Further, the authors find that innovation in SOEs is more sensitive to the changes in the leverage as compared to the NSOEs. The results are free from the threat of endogeneity and identification problems, as reported by the system GMM model.

The authors did not segregate the sample on the basis of industry/sector.

The firms pursuing a strategy of radical innovation should try to keep their debt levels lower in order to achieve a higher innovation performance. Although, a rise in the leverage may mean an increased access to finance for a firm but such an access comes at a cost in the form of damage to the corporate innovation. However, increased debt financing may not be so bad for the firms that want to achieve a moderate and not the highest level of innovation. Such firms can produce recurring and synergic effects with debt financing and moderate innovation, once they achieve a level of innovation performance that satisfies their financiers.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is probably the first study to check the impact of firm-level financial leverage on both input and output innovation in the Chinese public-listed nonfinancial firms' panel data perspective till now.

Given the positive organizational principles associated with total quality management (TQM) – customer focus, continuous improvement, and process management – one would assume TQM's application is universally beneficial across businesses. Generally, research supports that notion. However, given resource limitations and shallow management teams in small businesses, there are multiple challenges in implementing TQM in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, small business leaders should benefit from knowledge linking other management practices to TQM’s positive effect on small firm performance, which enhances these leaders' return on TQM investment.

The authors apply partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to explore TQM’s effect on small business performance and how other management practices enhance that relationship. Specifically, the authors explore how a comprehensive strategic approach (CSA) – a higher-order construct consisting of strategic planning, goal setting, and financial ratio analysis – moderates the relationship between TQM and small business performance. Given the complexity of the authors' model, the application of higher-order constructs, and the exploratory nature of this work, PLS-SEM is well suited for this study.

Consistent with prior research, the authors found that TQM (also a higher-order construct, consisting of seven lower-order constructs) positively impacts small firm performance. In addition, the authors found that CSA positively moderates the relationship between TQM and financial performance.

TQM’s effect on small business performance is enhanced when leaders implement a CSA. In other words, when small business leaders strategically plan, set goals, and analyze financial ratios, TQM's positive effect on firm performance is enhanced. This finding provides business leaders insights for how to maximize the TQM investment return.

The purpose of this paper is to add to the existing literature by examining a number of hypotheses relating to the capital structure decision in relation to the firms’ size, namely by distinguishing among micro, small and medium firms.

The paper examines the hypothesis that the factors determining capital structure are different for firms belonging to different size groups. The authors use a panel data model capturing the dynamic concept of capital structure.

The authors find that whereas the size of the firm does affect how much debt a firm will issue, it does not influence the relationship between the other regressors and debt usage.

The paper examines the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Does not examine the large firms.

During the last decade there has been a gradually increasing interest shown in the field of SMEs. These enterprises represent important parts of all economies in terms of both their total number and their job offer and job creation. For example, in the European Union (EU), in 2005, SMEs accounted for 99.8 percent of the total number of enterprises operating in EU-27, covering 66.7 of total employment in the non-financial business economy sector.

This paper relates capital structure decision to firms’ size distinguishing them among micro, small and medium firms.

The paper tests differences in capital structure determination among different size groups of enterprises in a dynamic framework for more than one year.