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Book part
Publication date: 23 April 2007

Carol A. Caronna

How do organizations act as entrepreneurs and what are the outcomes of their innovations? This paper intersects two broad areas of organizational research: the sociology of…

Abstract

How do organizations act as entrepreneurs and what are the outcomes of their innovations? This paper intersects two broad areas of organizational research: the sociology of entrepreneurship and the study of organizational forms. A case study of Kaiser Permanente's role as an institutional entrepreneur in the creation of the health maintenance organization form illuminates the benefits and pitfalls of institutional entrepreneurship – in this case, the act of turning identity into form. Examining organizations as institutional entrepreneurs also raises questions and challenges for future research about both entrepreneurs and models of organizing.

Details

The Sociology of Entrepreneurship
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-498-0

Book part
Publication date: 4 July 2019

Sara Pavia and Simon Grima

The authors herein carry out a literature review of retirement planning and highlights that proper retirement planning starts by looking at the level of income an individual is…

Abstract

The authors herein carry out a literature review of retirement planning and highlights that proper retirement planning starts by looking at the level of income an individual is likely to continue receiving at retirement if they were to take no action, then comparing this to what they would need to lead the lifestyle they desire. The authors review the traditional economic theories that many are accustomed to when interpreting financial matters (i.e., rational behavior) and compares this to the various studies and articles found in literature. The authors then dig into retirement planning in Malta and the behavioral obstacles to proper planning and how these are tackled in different European countries.

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Contemporary Issues in Behavioral Finance
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-881-9

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Book part
Publication date: 30 March 2017

Vijay Gondhalekar and Kevin Lehnert

This study examines share price reaction to the enrollment by companies in the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. We find that, on average, in the month of…

Abstract

This study examines share price reaction to the enrollment by companies in the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. We find that, on average, in the month of enrollment, shareholders of companies that join the CFBAI experience abnormal return of −3% and so do the shareholders of the immediate competitors that do not join the initiative. However, over the subsequent five years, while the shareholders of companies enrolled in the initiative experience an average abnormal return of +16.6%, that of non-enrolled competitors experience a further abnormal return of −34%. The abnormal returns for the two groups (at the time of enrollment and over the subsequent five years) are uncorrelated and so benefitting at the expense of competitors does not appear to be the motive for enrolling in the CFBAI. The study also provides comparison of number of employees and other important financial ratios before and after enrollment in the CFBAI for the two groups.

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Global Corporate Governance
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-165-4

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Book part
Publication date: 30 May 2018

Zelalem Yilma, Owen O’Donnell, Anagaw Mebratie, Getnet Alemu and Arjun S. Bedi

Little is known about perceptions of medical expenditure risks despite their presumed relevance to the demand for health insurance. This is the first study to examine households’…

Abstract

Little is known about perceptions of medical expenditure risks despite their presumed relevance to the demand for health insurance. This is the first study to examine households’ beliefs about their future spending on health care. The study made a unique elicitation of subjective probabilities of medical expenditures from rural Ethiopians participating in a panel survey and offered the opportunity to enrol in a health insurance programme. The vast majority of respondents give logically consistent responses to the subjective probability questions. The data indicate that the cross-sectional variance of realized expenditures, which is often used to proxy risk exposure, greatly overestimate the risk faced by any single household. Consistent with the serial correlation observed in realized expenditures, expectations are positively correlated with past expenses. They are revised upward in response to an increase in realized expenditure and, to some extent, they predict expenditure incurred in the year ahead. Despite containing information on future medical expenditures, there is no evidence that expectations influence the decision to take out health insurance, although plans to insure are positively related to the perceived volatility of expenses.

These results suggest that adverse selection may not threaten the viability of voluntary health insurance. A caveat is that measurement error in the reported probabilities may weaken the test for adverse selection. Notwithstanding this limitation, measurement of household-specific distributions of future medical expenses is feasible and avoids relying on the cross-sectional variance, which provides an upwardly biased estimate of medical expenditure risk.

Book part
Publication date: 11 June 2009

Sachiko Ozawa and Damian G. Walker

Objective – To understand the role and influence of villagers’ trust for the health insurer on enrollment in a community-based health insurance (CBHI) scheme in…

Abstract

Objective – To understand the role and influence of villagers’ trust for the health insurer on enrollment in a community-based health insurance (CBHI) scheme in Cambodia.

Methodology/approach – This study was conducted in northwest Cambodia where a CBHI scheme operates with the highest enrollment rates in the country. A mixed method approach was employed to gauge how individuals in the community trust the health insurer, and whether this plays a role in their decisions to enroll in CBHI schemes. Focus groups and household surveys were carried out to identify and measure trust levels, and to explore the association between insurer trust and enrollment in CBHI schemes.

Findings – Although villagers generally trusted the health insurance organization, villagers with poor experiences with other organizations in the past were less willing to trust the insurer. Insurer trust represented a combination of interpersonal and impersonal trust. After controlling for demographic factors, health care utilization, and household socio-economic status, insurer trust levels for villagers who newly enrolled (RRR=1.07, p<0.001) and renewed insurance (RRR=1.15, p<0.001) were significantly higher than those who never enrolled in CBHI schemes.

Implications for policy – This study illustrates the relationship between CBHI enrollment and villagers’ trust for the health insurer in a low-income, post-conflict country. It highlights the need for staff of health insurance organizations to place greater emphasis on building trusting interpersonal relationships with villagers. Understanding the nature of trust for the health insurer is essential to improve health insurance enrollment and protect people in poor rural communities against the impact of health-related shocks.

Details

Innovations in Health System Finance in Developing and Transitional Economies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-664-5

Book part
Publication date: 8 November 2011

Anders la Cour and Holger Højlund

Purpose – To analyze the emergence of new organizational forms in the Danish welfare sector.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on Niklas Luhmann and Gunther Teubner, the…

Abstract

Purpose – To analyze the emergence of new organizational forms in the Danish welfare sector.

Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on Niklas Luhmann and Gunther Teubner, the research analyzes governmental documents, policy programs, action plans, and strategic documents.

Findings – A partnering structure has emerged with a new politics of voluntarism, complex forms of integration and new imaginary distinctions between voluntariness and public care. This can usefully be conceptualized as aspects of the stabilization of a “third-order system.” The research identified a number of different managerial strategies for involvement in the system.

Practical and social implications – Social welfare has become a mix of public and civil society values and norms, and extensive resources have been invested from both governmental and nongovernmental sides to build up shared competences for the new forms of partnering-based organization. However, to act according to the new principles of partnering, at the strategic and managerial level, the voluntary organizations have to behave in a schizophrenic manner – as both individual organizations and cooperational partners within the system.

Research implications – The concept of “third-order system” is especially useful in analyzing mixed forms of management in the welfare sector.

Originality – Different forms of radical organizational analysis are combined to develop a notion of “third-order system” in the welfare sector.

Book part
Publication date: 11 June 2009

Winnie Yip and Kara Hanson

Objectives – Purchasing has been promoted as a key policy instrument to improve health system performance. Despite its widespread adoption, there is little empirical evidence on…

Abstract

Objectives – Purchasing has been promoted as a key policy instrument to improve health system performance. Despite its widespread adoption, there is little empirical evidence on how it works, the challenges surrounding its implementation, its impact, and the preconditions for it to function effectively, particularly in low- and middle-income settings. The objective of this chapter is to analyze critically the extent to which purchasing could be, and has been used strategically in China and to identify modifications that are needed for purchasing to be effective in assuring that the government's new funding for health care will result in efficient and effective health services.

Methods – We present a conceptual framework for purchasing, which identifies three critical principal–agent relationships in purchasing. We draw on evidence from secondary data, results of other research studies, interviews, and the impact evaluation of a social experiment in rural China that explicitly used purchasing to improve quality and efficiency. This information is used to examine purchasing relationships in urban social health insurance (SHI), the rural medical insurance scheme, and purchasing of public health services.

Findings – To date, use of strategic purchasing is limited in China. Both the urban and the rural health insurance schemes act as passive third-party payers, failing to take advantage of the opportunities to strengthen incentives to improve quality and efficiency. This may be because as government agencies, the extent to which the Ministries of Health and Labor and Social Security can act independently from provider interests, or act in the best interest of the population, is unclear. Other important challenges include ensuring adequate representation of the population's views and preferences and making better use of the leverage provided by purchasing to create appropriate provider incentives, through better integration of financing and improved coordination among purchasers.

Implications for policy – In designing purchasing arrangements, attention needs to be paid to all three principal–agent relationships. Successful purchasing appears to require mechanisms to mobilize and represent community preferences and more strategic contracting with providers. More research is needed to strengthen the evidence on which purchasing arrangements work, which do not work, and under what conditions different purchasing configurations can work most effectively.

Details

Innovations in Health System Finance in Developing and Transitional Economies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-664-5

Book part
Publication date: 14 November 2012

Gaelebale Nnunu Tsheko

HIV and AIDS have had a significant impact on education and society in Botswana. By giving a background of HIV and AIDS in the country and outlining the main response activities…

Abstract

HIV and AIDS have had a significant impact on education and society in Botswana. By giving a background of HIV and AIDS in the country and outlining the main response activities in Botswana's education sector, the author provides a detailed foundation for understanding the phenomenon of HIV/AIDS in Botswana as well as the conditions and activities used to respond to this epidemic. The methodology primarily consisted of document analysis of government policies and other documentation as well as research reports of studies conducted on education and HIV and AIDS or related topics.

Details

The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Education Worldwide
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-233-2

Book part
Publication date: 27 August 2014

Damian Tago, Henrik Andersson and Nicolas Treich

This study contributes to the understanding of the health effects of pesticides exposure and of how pesticides have been and should be regulated.

Abstract

Purpose

This study contributes to the understanding of the health effects of pesticides exposure and of how pesticides have been and should be regulated.

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents literature reviews for the period 2000–2013 on (i) the health effects of pesticides and on (ii) preference valuation of health risks related to pesticides, as well as a discussion of the role of benefit-cost analysis applied to pesticide regulatory measures.

Findings

This study indicates that the health literature has focused on individuals with direct exposure to pesticides, i.e. farmers, while the literature on preference valuation has focused on those with indirect exposure, i.e. consumers. The discussion highlights the need to clarify the rationale for regulating pesticides, the role of risk perceptions in benefit-cost analysis, and the importance of inter-disciplinary research in this area.

Originality/value

This study relates findings of different disciplines (health, economics, public policy) regarding pesticides, and identifies gaps for future research.

Details

Preference Measurement in Health
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-029-2

Keywords

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