Identifying Service Market Reform Priorities in Italy

Italy’s labor productivity in market services has declined since 2000, underperforming manufacturing and peer European countries, especially in strongly regulated sectors. A model of monopolistic competition is used to identify which service sectors would benefit more from removing entry and/or exit barriers. Using Italian firm-level data, the paper finds that sectors with high markups, such as professional services, would primarily benefit from removing entry barriers. Sectors with a large mass of unproductive firms, such as retail, would instead benefit from removing exit barriers. Policy recommendations to improve efficiency are outlined in relation to the sectoral priorities identified in the data.

Marketing intensity and persistence of firm performance: empirical evidence from Indonesia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the degree of persistence of firm performance for publicly listed firms in Indonesia. The study also explores the impact of marketing expenditure on firm’s performance. Design/methodology/approach The data comprise 165 listed firms operating in Indonesia over the period 2007–2016. Dynamic panel regression estimations using Arellano and Bond (1991) and Blundell and Bond (1998) techniques have been deployed to generate the results. Findings The findings show the existence of positive persistence and sub-optimal level of competition in the performance of Indonesian firms. The results highlight that marketing intensity has a positive and significant impact on firm performance. The positive persistence hints at creation of substantial entry and exit barriers by the Indonesian firms and also indicate that Indonesian firms are able to create behavioral inertia among their consumers by properly directing their marketing efforts. Practical implications There is a need on the part of management to strengthen the short-term profit capabilities to nurture long-term benefits of profit maximization. On the regulators part, the authorities should frame the policies to foster long-run competition. Originality/value The current study contributes to the sparse literature on persistence of firm performance in the context of emerging economies like Indonesia. This is the first study on persistence of firm performance for publicly listed firms in Indonesia.

Clients´ Perceptions of Sales Force Expert Power

Expert power is based on the awareness that a person in a power relationship possesses valuable knowledge, information, or skills (Raven, 1992, 2008). It builds customer trust, long-term relationships, customer satisfaction, loyalty, and exit barriers. The buyer´s preferences for a product or solution are shaped by sales force expert power (Doney & Cannon, 1997; Clauss & Bouncken, 2018). With these preferences, the buyer participates in the decision-making process, where the mechanisms of organisational buying find application. However, what remains unclear is which attributes a buying centre specifically associates with sales force expert power, when and how the perception of sales force expert power alters in the buying process, also which factors are responsible for it are issues that have not yet been discussed in the context of group decision-making in buying centres, and finally to what extent does sales force expert power influences the decision frame of each member of the buying centre. To address these gaps, the aim of the study is to create an approach by which sales forces can consciously manage and enhance the clients´ perceptions of sales force expert power. For this purpose, Alpha Software customers from various industries were interviewed immediately after their purchase decision regarding the perception of sales force expert power and what influence this perception had on the buying centre’s decision. The findings of the study indicate an overload of sales force expert power can lead to mistrust and uncertainty. The perception of sales force expert power is important in all stages of the buying process. In early stages product knowledge is perceived more strongly while the perception of change knowledge in final stages predominates. Information exchange and recommendations lose their impact due to an unprofessional approach to change which minimises the perception of expert power significantly. Due to the intensity of change and how the change is perceived the perception of sales force expert power alters. Business customers, unlike consumers, expect a professional approach to change rather than benevolence. The interviewed clients perceive the software conversion project as a change project and expect the sales force to be approached and addressed accordingly. Change knowledge is cited as an important attribute for sales force expert power, which can advance the clients´ perceptions of sales force expert power.

COMPETITIVENESS OF UKRAINE’S BANKING SERVICES MARKET: SCALE FACTOR (the end)

The need for effective development of Ukraine’s banking services market under conditions of expansion of foreign capital and international business rules requires the presence of competitive advantages of the national suppliers of banking services. In this context and from the point of view of the European integration processes in Ukraine’s economy, the development of modern tools of prudential supervision by the authorized bodies is becoming relevant. The authors for the first time define the concept of competitiveness of the banking services market and analyze this competitiveness from the standpoint of estimation and comparison of the market indicators set of one country over aggregate indicators of corresponding markets of other countries. A new unified methodology of complex estimation of the competitiveness of the banking services market based on the system of quantitative assessments and criteria is developed. The presented research covers the following points of the analysis of the market: territorial borders, capacity and scales; density and compactness of banks and branches; openness of the market; capacity and importance of services; density of income and services; entry and exit barriers; capitalization limits of banks; level of development of innovative services. The approach with regard to the scale factor analysis of Ukraine’s banking services market for 2007–2017 is approved. The comparison of data and quantitative indices of Ukraine’s banking services market with the corresponding indices of other commensurate countries of euro-zone and world countries is performed. The place of Ukraine’s banking services market at the international level is determined. Such a comparison is provided in the context of markets in the countries with developed and transition economies. It is found that at the world level and within the euro-zone, Ukraine’s banking services market corresponds to a small scale; the heterogeneity and disproportionality of services within the country are present; there exist approximately equal influences of residents and foreign owners of banks; the market has high entry barriers for new players and is at the beginning stage of the digital revolution. Bankruptcy of the largest bank will be tangible for the banking sector of Ukraine, but not destructive for the financial system of the country.

COMPETITIVENESS OF UKRAINE’S BANKING SERVICES MARKET: SCALE FACTOR

The need for effective development of Ukraine’s banking services market under conditions of expansion of foreign capital and international business rules requires the presence of competitive advantages of the national suppliers of banking services. In this context and from the point of view of the European integration processes in Ukraine’s economy, the development of modern tools of prudential supervision by the authorized bodies is becoming relevant. The authors for the first time define the concept of competitiveness of the banking services market and analyze this competitiveness from the standpoint of estimation and comparison of the market indicators set of one country over aggregate indicators of corresponding markets of other countries. A new unified methodology of complex estimation of the competitiveness of the banking services market based on the system of quantitative assessments and criteria is developed. The presented research covers the following points of the analysis of the market: territorial borders, capacity and scales; density and compactness of banks and branches; openness of the market; capacity and importance of services; density of income and services; entry and exit barriers; capitalization limits of banks; level of development of innovative services. The approach with regard to the scale factor analysis of Ukraine’s banking services market for 2007–2017 is approved. The comparison of data and quantitative indices of Ukraine’s banking services market with the corresponding indices of other commensurate countries of euro-zone and world countries is performed. The place of Ukraine’s banking services market at the international level is determined. Such a comparison is provided in the context of markets in the countries with developed and transition economies. It is found that at the world level and within the euro-zone, Ukraine’s banking services market corresponds to a small scale; the heterogeneity and disproportionality of services within the country are present; there exist approximately equal influences of residents and foreign owners of banks; the market has high entry barriers for new players and is at the beginning stage of the digital revolution. Bankruptcy of the largest bank will be tangible for the banking sector of Ukraine, but not destructive for the financial system of the country.

Marginalisation of Roma: Root Causes and Possible Policy Actions

The existing policy and academic debate on the social mobility of Roma have been focused almost entirely on entry barriers (the cost of entry into the mainstream society), whereas exit barriers (the cost of exit from the traditional Roma lifestyle) have been acknowledged and studied to a much lesser extent. In this study we advocate that from a policy perspective it is important to understand differences between the two types of social mobility barriers, as they have different causes and hence have to be addressed by different policy instruments. However, it is important that both types of social mobility barriers are addressed simultaneously, as they interact and reinforce each other mutually. Further, addressing social mobility barriers of Roma requires a change of both formal and informal institutions. Therefore, policy measures have to be implemented and sustained over a long period of time in order to have a sustainable impact on the social and economic integration of Roma.

Social Mobility Barriers for Roma: Discrimination and Informal Institutions

This article attempts to identify and document social mobility barriers for Roma. We have identified two types of social mobility barriers: the cost of exit from the traditional Roma community, and the cost of entry into the mainstream society. Most of the existing policy and academic debate on the social and economic marginalisation of Roma has focused almost entirely on entry barriers. The main contribution of the current paper to the existing literature is to draw attention to exit barriers, which usually are neglected in the public debate and the academic literature. In the current paper we show that understanding both types of social mobility barriers for Roma is crucial for designing effective policy measures.

Uruguay

This chapter, focusing on Uruguay, reviews the trajectory of the oldest parties in the study, PC and PN. This analysis presents the clearest example of the theorized evolution of the causal factors: the waning effect of Trauma, the difficulty of sustaining Purpose, the importance of formal and informal Channels of Ambition, and the consolidation of moderate Exit Barriers as a combination of institutional and organizational formal and informal rules. The chapter also discusses the case of the FA, a vibrant party that faces the challenge of consolidating Channels of Ambition. Finally, the Uruguayan case illustrates the trade-off between Trauma and Channels of Ambition and is the only one of the three countries in this study where all the major parties, at the time of fieldwork, could be considered vibrant.