Research Articles

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14417/1726

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21st Leadership styles
(Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, 2023) Villace Fernández, Carlos ; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
The 21st century led to a new concept of leadership as the result of new political,economic,social and cultural scenarios,and one of the most relevant factors is the globalized environment to which organizations and institutions are involved. In this stage new leadership,networking,charismatic,changing,and global requirements of organizations and institutions are addressed. © 2023,Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. All rights reserved.
A bridge too far for artificial intelligence?: Automatic classification of stanzas in Spanish poetry
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2022) Pérez Pozo, Álvaro; Rosa, Javier de la; Ros, Salvador; González Blanco, Elena; Hernández, Laura; Sisto, Mirella de; Horizon 2020 Framework Programme; European Research Council; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
The rise in artificial intelligence and natural language processing techniques has increased considerably in the last few decades. Historically,the focus has been primarily on texts expressed in prose form,leaving mostly aside figurative or poetic expressions of language due to their rich semantics and syntactic complexity. The creation and analysis of poetry have been commonly carried out by hand,with a few computer-assisted approaches. In the Spanish context,the promise of machine learning is starting to pan out in specific tasks such as metrical annotation and syllabification. However,there is a task that remains unexplored and underdeveloped: stanza classification. This classification of the inner structures of verses in which a poem is built upon is an especially relevant task for poetry studies since it complements the structural information of a poem. In this work,we analyzed different computational approaches to stanza classification in the Spanish poetic tradition. These approaches show that this task continues to be hard for computers systems,both based on classical machine learning approaches as well as statistical language models and cannot compete with traditional computational paradigms based on the knowledge of experts. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for Information Science and Technology.
A change-point approach for the identification of financial extreme regimes
(Project euclid, 2021-11) Leonelli, Manuele; Lattanzi, Chiara
Inference over tails is usually performed by fitting an appropriate limiting distribution over observations that exceed a fixed threshold. However, the choice of such threshold is critical and can affect the inferential results. Extreme value mixture models have been defined to estimate the threshold using the full dataset and to give accurate tail estimates. Such models assume that the tail behavior is constant for all observations. However, the extreme behavior of financial returns often changes considerably in time and such changes occur by sudden shocks of the market. Here the extreme value mixture model class is extended to formally take into account distributional extreme change-points, by allowing for the presence of regime-dependent parameters modelling the tail of the distribution. This extension formally uses the full dataset to both estimate the thresholds and the extreme changepoint locations, giving uncertainty measures for both quantities. Estimation of functions of interest in extreme value analyses is performed via MCMC algorithms. Our approach is evaluated through a series of simulations, applied to real data sets and assessed against competing approaches. Evidence demonstrates that the inclusion of different extreme regimes outperforms both static and dynamic competing approaches in financial applications.
A dynamic long-term approach to internationalization: Spanish publishing firms’ expansion and emigrants in Mexico (1939–1977)
(Springer Nature, 2022-02-14) Moschieri, Caterina; Fernandez Moya, Maria; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
This study examines how firms with scarce market and non-market resources can succeed in internationalizing, even in a host country that lacks trade and diplomatic relationships with the firms’ home country. With a hand-collected, historical database of the Spanish publishing industry’s investments in Mexico over the 20th century, we find that in a context of suspension of bilateral trade agreements and diplomatic relationships between Spain and Mexico, Spanish publishing firms leveraged Spanish emigrants to internationalize in the Mexican market, initially through exports, then through distribution and local commercial subsidiaries, and finally through local production. Spanish publishers progressively used emigrants to develop social and cultural support, to help establish formal and informal rules, procedures, and norms of institutions and to lobby in Mexico. Combining historical and inductive analyses, we offer a novel perspective on firms’ internationalization through a changing use of emigrants to endogenize the cultural, trade, and political distance between the home and the host country, and we develop new theoretical insights on the social, cultural, and political embeddedness of firms.
A geometric characterization of sensitivity analysis in monomial models
(Elsevier Inc., 2022) Riccomagno, Eva; Leonelli, Manuele; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Sensitivity analysis in probabilistic discrete graphical models is usually conducted by varying one probability at a time and observing how this affects output probabilities of interest. When one probability is varied,then others are proportionally covaried to respect the sum-to-one condition of probabilities. The choice of proportional covariation is justified by multiple optimality conditions,under which the original and the varied distributions are as close as possible under different measures. For variations of more than one parameter at a time and for the large class of discrete statistical models entertaining a regular monomial parametrisation,we demonstrate the optimality of newly defined proportional multi-way schemes with respect to an optimality criterion based on the I-divergence. We demonstrate that there are varying parameters' choices for which proportional covariation is not optimal and identify the sub-family of distributions where the distance between the original distribution and the one where probabilities are covaried proportionally is minimum. This is shown by adopting a new geometric characterization of sensitivity analysis in monomial models,which include most probabilistic graphical models. We also demonstrate the optimality of proportional covariation for multi-way analyses in Naive Bayes classifiers. © 2022 The Author(s)
A geometric characterization of sensitivity analysis in monomial models
(Elsevier, 2022-12) Leonelli, Manuele; Riccomagno, Eva; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Sensitivity analysis in probabilistic discrete graphical models is usually conducted by varying one probability at a time and observing how this affects output probabilities of interest. When one probability is varied, then others are proportionally covaried to respect the sum-to-one condition of probabilities. The choice of proportional covariation is justified by multiple optimality conditions, under which the original and the varied distributions are as close as possible under different measures. For variations of more than one parameter at a time and for the large class of discrete statistical models entertaining a regular monomial parametrisation, we demonstrate the optimality of newly defined proportional multi-way schemes with respect to an optimality criterion based on the I-divergence. We demonstrate that there are varying parameters’ choices for which proportional covariation is not optimal and identify the sub-family of distributions where the distance between the original distribution and the one where probabilities are covaried proportionally is minimum. This is shown by adopting a new geometric characterization of sensitivity analysis in monomial models, which include most probabilistic graphical models. We also demonstrate the optimality of proportional covariation for multi-way analyses in Naive Bayes classifiers.
A guilt-free strategy increases self-reported non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures: Experimental evidence from 12 countries
(PLOS, 2021-04-21) Daoust, Jean François; Bélanger, Éric; Dassonneville, Ruth; Lachapelle, Erick; Nadeau, Richard; Becher, Michael; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Studies of citizens’ compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures routinely rely on survey data. While such data are essential, public health restrictions provide clear signals of what is socially desirable in this context, creating a potential source of response bias in self-reported measures of compliance. In this research, we examine whether the results of a guilt-free strategy recently proposed to lessen this constraint are generalizable across twelve countries, and whether the treatment effect varies across subgroups. Our findings show that the guilt-free strategy is a useful tool in every country included, increasing respondents’ proclivity to report non-compliance by 9 to 16 percentage points. This effect holds for different subgroups based on gender, age and education. We conclude that the inclusion of this strategy should be the new standard for survey research that aims to provide crucial data on the current pandemic.
A macro-level investigation of transatlantic controlling shareholder's fiduciary duty
(Cambridge University Press, 2021-06-27) Anidjar, Leon; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Legal systems around the world apply various strategies to mitigate agency costs between controlling and minority shareholders. A systematic review of the transnational law on the loyalty and care obligations of controlling shareholders reveals various doctrinal choices. This study aims to uncover the evolution of these choices by employing a law-in-context methodology. Accordingly, it seeks to explain the differences in governance selections by exploring the cultural, historical and socio-economic backgrounds of the particular legal systems in which organisations and decisions are embodied. I conduct a macro-level inquiry which focuses on the cultural environment and business history development to understand different doctrinal designs. In particular, I argue that those dissimilarities are a result of unique cultural-non-formal norms of corporate governance regarding the protection afforded to shareholders’ interests and they correspond to the historical development of the law of corporate groups across nations. As the macro-level investigation indicates, any initiative to globally converge corporate law and governance should be carried out with caution because it may distort the delicate normative equilibrium represented in a given jurisdiction.
A model of managerial compensation, firm leverage and credit stimulus
(Elsevier, 2024-06) Gete, Pedro; Chakraborti, Rajdeep; Dahiya, Sandeep; Ge, Lei; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; Agencia Estatal de Investigación; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
We study a model in which leverage and compensation are both choice variables for the firm and borrowing spreads are endogenous. First, we analyze the correlation between leverage and variable compensation. We show that allowing for endogenous compensation and leverage can explain the conflicting findings of the empirical literature. We uncover a new channel of complementarity between effort and leverage that induces a correlation sign opposite to what current theoretical models predict. Second, we study the dynamics of leverage and compensation design after a credit stimulus. We derive a set of new empirical predictions. For outward-shifts in credit supply, variable compensation is increasing in leverage growth. Moreover, variable compensation increases after the credit stimulus, especially for firms with low idiosyncratic risk.
A novel mechanism for dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium in Acididesulfobacillus acetoxydans
(American Society for Microbiology, 2024) Egas, Reinier; Kurth, Julia; Boeren, Sjef; Sousa, Diana; Welte, Cornelia; Sánchez Andrea, Irene; Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
The biological route of nitrate reduction has important implications for the bioavailability of nitrogen within ecosystems. Nitrate reduction via nitrite,either to ammonium (ammonification) or to nitrous oxide or dinitrogen (denitrification),determines whether nitrogen is retained within the system or lost as a gas. The acidophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium (aSRB) Acididesulfobacillus acetoxydans can perform dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). While encoding a Nar-type nitrate reductase,A. acetoxydans lacks recognized nitrite reductase genes. In this study,A. acetoxydans was cultivated under conditions conducive to DNRA. During cultivations,we monitored the production of potential nitrogen intermediates (nitrate,nitrite,nitric oxide,hydroxylamine,and ammonium). Resting cell experiments were performed with nitrate,nitrite,and hydroxylamine to confirm their reduction to ammonium,and formed intermediates were tracked. To identify the enzymes involved in DNRA,comparative transcriptomics and proteomics were performed with A. acetoxydans growing under nitrate- and sulfate-reducing conditions. Nitrite is likely reduced to ammonia by the previously undescribed nitrite reductase activity of the NADH-linked sulfite reductase AsrABC,or by a putatively ferredoxin-dependent homolog of the nitrite reductase NirA (DEACI_1836),or both. We identified enzymes and intermediates not previously associated with DNRA and nitrosative stress in aSRB. This increases our knowledge about the metabolism of this type of bacteria and helps the interpretation of (meta)genome data from various ecosystems on their DNRA potential and the nitrogen cycle. © 2024 Egas et al.
A Public Service Role For Digital Libraries: The Unequal Battle Against (Online) Misinformation Through Copyright Law Reform And The Emergency Electronic Access To Library Material
(SSRN, 2021-03-26) Panezi, Argyri
This article analyzes the role of copyright doctrine and case law in preserving the institutional function of libraries—both on- and offline—as trusted and, in principle, neutral hubs equalizing access to credible information and knowledge in societies with structural inequalities. In doing so it examines the ongoing Hachette v. Internet Archive litigation before the US District Court of the Southern District of New York in the context of earlier copyright cases, finding that there is a persistent need for electronic access to library material online. Libraries have traditionally served an important role as reserved spaces for legally permissible distribution of books outside of markets. Copyright law, however, has the potential to hinder the fuction of libraries and other cultural heritage institutions particularly in equalizing access to knowledge. While there exist some exceptions and limitations that partially alleviate this, their applicability in the digital environment is still contested. Two novel challenges are interfering: first, an unmet and contentious need for emergency access to electronic library material to be granted online, and second, the need to counteract historical biases and misinformation, both of which multiply when spread within a hyper-connected and digitized society. In order to ensure electronic access to credible information and knowledge, policymakers must address these challenges strategically and reassess the needs of subjects and institutions that are currently subject to copyright exceptions. Hachette v. Internet Archive follows a string of copyright cases that involved challenges to digitization without permission and to providing electronic access to digitized library material. The plaintiffs in Hachette v. Internet Archive, four publishers, brought copyright claims against the Internet Archive for the latter’s operation of a “National Emergency Library” within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The case introduces a new dimension to existing debates around electronic access to library material, particularly around e-lending, raising the question: Can emergencies justify additional exceptions to copyright laws covering electronic access to library material, and if so, under what circumstances? After analyzing the relevant settled case law and the ongoing litigation against the Internet Archive and then looking back into the history of and rationale for copyright laws, the article advances a normative claim—that copyright should provide better support to libraries and digital libraries in particular (broadly defined) as the institutional safeguards of our literary treasures. Libraries have a public service mandate to preserve, curate, and provide access to a plurality of original and authoritative sources, and thus ultimately aspire not to compete in the marketplace but to become trusted hubs that equalize access to knowledge. In the context of a society currently struggling to fight historical biases and (online) misinformation, providing libraries with the legal support needed to fulfill this mandate will enable them to more effectively safeguard and provide equal access to (at least relatively) credible information and knowledge, including in the digital environment.
A Quantitative Model of International Lending of Last Resort
(Elsevier, 2020-03) Gete, Pedro; Melkadze, Givi; Uribe, Martin; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
We analyze banking crises and lending of last resort (LOLR) in a quantitative model of financial frictions with bank defaults. LOLR policies generate a tradeoff between financial fragility (due to more highly leveraged banks) and milder crises since the policies are effective once in a crisis. In the calibrated model, the crisis mitigation effect dominates the moral hazard problem and the economy is better off having access to a lender of last resort. We characterize the conditions under which pools of small economies can be sustainable LOLRs. In addition, we assess the ability of China - a country with ample reserves - to be a sustainable international LOLR.
A scientific approach to entrepreneurial decision-making: Large-scale replication and extension
(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2024) Camuffo, Arnaldo; Gambardella, Alfonso; Messinese, Danilo; Novelli, Elena; Paolucci, Emilio; Spina, Chiara; University of London; Ministero dell’Istruzione; Bocconi University; Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Research Summary: This article runs a large-scale replication of Camuffo and colleagues in 2020,involving 759 firms in four randomized control trials. The larger sample generates novel and more precise insights about the teachability and implications of a scientific approach in entrepreneurship. We observe a positive impact on idea termination and results that are consistent with a nonlinear effect on radical pivots,with treated firms running few over no or repeated pivots. We provide a theoretical interpretation of the empirical results: the scientific approach enhances entrepreneurs' efficiency in searching for viable ideas and raises their methodic doubt because,like scientists,they realize that there may be alternative scenarios from the ones that they theorize. Managerial Summary: The findings of this article,based on four randomized control trials involving 759 firms,offer new insights into how entrepreneurial practices can benefit from a scientific approach to decision-making. Key outcomes include an increase in the termination of ideas and a nuanced influence on the tendency to make strategy changes. Specifically,firms that adopted a scientific approach made a few strategic shifts,as opposed to either not changing or constantly changing their strategy. We suggest that this is due to the scientific approach helping entrepreneurs be more efficient when searching for valuable ideas,as well as being more careful in selecting those ideas. © 2024 The Authors. Strategic Management Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
A strategic sustainability model for global luxury companies in the management of CO2 emissions
(Springer, 2024) Rangel Pérez, Celia; López, Belén; Fernández, Manuel; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Luxury brands are at the forefront of sustainability efforts and carbon emission reductions to fight climate change. The goal of this paper is to analyze such climate change challenges in terms of cost efforts within large luxury conglomerates. In doing so,financial metrics have been gathered for the top 100 companies in the luxury sector and compared against CO2 emissions metrics with regressive methods. This enables the study of relationships between sustainability and finance to explore if sustainability is expensive and if sustainability is explained by costs,sales,taxes,or investment. Such works allow the setting of conclusions on financial and managerial decisions and,moreover,set a new framework of analysis based on financial variables and the positive or negative impact on CO2 emissions,such as which financial variables generate more CO2 emissions (luxury sales,capital investment and financial cost) and which help to reduce such emissions (cost of goods sold,general expenses and taxes). © The Author(s) 2024.
A Universal Screening Tool for Dyslexia by a Web-Game and Machine Learning
(Frontiers, 2022-01-03) Rello, Luz; Rauschenberge, Maria; Baeza Yates, Ricardo; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Children with dyslexia have difficulties learning how to read and write. They are often diagnosed after they fail school even if dyslexia is not related to general intelligence. Early screening of dyslexia can prevent the negative side effects of late detection and enables early intervention. In this context, we present an approach for universal screening of dyslexia using machine learning models with data gathered from a web-based language-independent game. We designed the game content taking into consideration the analysis of mistakes of people with dyslexia in different languages and other parameters related to dyslexia like auditory perception as well as visual perception. We did a user study with 313 children (116 with dyslexia) and train predictive machine learning models with the collected data. Our method yields an accuracy of 0.74 for German and 0.69 for Spanish as well as a F1-score of 0.75 for German and 0.75 for Spanish, using Random Forests and Extra Trees, respectively. We also present the game content design, potential new auditory input, and knowledge about the design approach for future research to explore Universal screening of dyslexia. universal screening with language-independent content can be used for the screening of pre-readers who do not have any language skills, facilitating a potential early intervention.
“A Worker is a Worker is a Worker” Collective Bargaining and Platform Work, the Case of Deliveroo Couriers
(SSRN, 2019) Aloisi, Antonio; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
The focus of this commentary is the compatibility of Section 296(1)(b) of the 1992 Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A) with Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), insofar as it excludes workers who do not provide their service personally from being represented by a union on the negotiation of pay and terms and conditions of work. The case shows how the domestic term worker may be equivocal and its interpretation seems at odds with various international standards, including the ILO’s instruments. This confusion raises the question of whether steps should be taken to “bring domestic law into alignment [with European law] in the interests of legal certainty.”
Accessibility and availability: A cross-cultural study of shopper responses to online retail stock-outs
(Taylor & Francis, 2021-06-14) Gruen, Thomas; Corsten, Daniel; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Accessibility of products in online retail is an expected part of the shopper experience journey. Frequent products are not accessible due to non-availability. Introduced by Sheth and Sisodia, the 4A’s framework articulates how success in any marketing program depends on four dimensions: Awareness, Acceptability, Affordability, and Accessibility. This article demonstrates how, like dominos fall, marketing investments can fail when the final 4A’s stage, Accessibility, is not adequately addressed in online retailing. Surveying more than 2,000 shoppers across five European and Asian countries that encountered a non-available item while shopping online for one of six fast-moving consumer goods categories, the research study examines shoppers’ switching behavior when Accessibility has been interrupted in the purchasing stage of the customer journey. The overall goal is to better understand how shoppers change their behavior, and it examines a variety of causes that drive switching behavior, whether it be to switch stores, switch brands, or switch intentions when the item they desired is unavailable. Switching behavior was found to vary greatly among the five countries, but less between categories, and switching was greatly affected by the way shoppers encountered the non-available item. The study concludes with recommendations to address Accessibility both in product availability and shoppers’ transaction costs.
Accountability through Environmental and Social Reporting byWind Energy Sector Companies in Spain
(MDPI, 2020) Moseñe Fierro, José Antonio; Sanagustín Fons, María Victoria; Álvarez Alonso, César; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
At present,energy transition is a crucial phenomenon that is at the very heart of governmental policies. There are a huge number of stakeholders involved in the change,but among these,the main socioeconomic actors that affect environmental and social impacts are energy companies. In this research,we analyze their institutionalized role in the Spanish wind energy sector,in the framework of the ecological movement. We consult the special views,opinions and motivations given by managers responsible for Institutional Relations in the main wind energy companies in Spain,and their perceptions of environmental reporting. We therefore tackle aspects related to the drivers of the social and environmental disclosure of environmental and social information. Research has been carried out based on documentary secondary analysis,and the use of a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews has revealed tendencies and pressures in the sector. Results suggest that the social context and public opinion pressure organizations to reveal environmental and social information. We also put forward how information is conveyed to the society through accountability practices,and the different institutionalized ways in which this is achieved. © 2020 by the authors.
Accounting and Finance Literacy and Entrepreneurship: an Exploratory Study
(Elsevier, 2023) Trombetta, Marco; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
The aim of this study is to investigate whether the level of financial literacy differs significantly among entrepreneurs in three European countries: Italy, Spain, and the UK. Moreover, I analyze whether financial literacy fosters or hinders entrepreneurial resilience and success. I find that the level of basic financial literacy is significantly lower among entrepreneurs in the UK. I provide an explanation based on job opportunities arguing that basic financial literacy increases the chances of survival of a business, whereas advanced financial literacy decreases it. I propose a taxonomy linking levels of financial literacy with different approaches to financial management. I conclude that a “conservative” approach to financial management (cash based, debt-averse and diversified) is more likely to guarantee survival even if it is not necessarily the best way to maximize firm value.
Accumulating Knowledge Over Time Introduction to the Fourth FBR Review Issue
(SAGE Journals, 2022-03) Cruz, Cristina; Brigham, Keith ; Kammerlander, Nadine; Kotlar, Josip; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
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