Browsing by Author "Sellers-Rubio, Ricardo"
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- The differentiated effects of CSR actions in the service industryCasado-Diaz, Ana B.; Nicolau, Juan Luis; Ruiz-Moreno, Felipe; Sellers-Rubio, Ricardo (Emerald, 2014-01-01)Purpose: The purpose of this study is to attempt to explain why the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives may be different and/or more important in service firms compared to manufacturing firms. CSR is becoming a common strategy, hence its extensive research. Central to it is the analysis of the effect of CSR on a firm’s performance, whose outcome depends on firm-specific and industry-related factors. Design/methodology/approach: The event study methodology is applied to all the 248 companies that have ever traded on the Spanish Stock Market between 1990 and 2007. A regression analysis examines potential different effects of CSR on service and goods firms. Findings: The results show that CSR activities have a positive impact on firm performance that is higher for service firms than for manufacturing firms. Actions related to the environment, responsible labor relationships and good corporate governance are especially important in the service context. Research limitations/implications: This research is focused on shareholders’ performance, but it does not consider other stakeholders, such as real consumer behavior or employees’ commitment and productivity. Practical implications: Service firms are likely to gain from focusing on some CSR activities (environment, employees and good corporate governance) and should use their responsible behavior as a valuable tool for public relations and differentiation in the market. Originality/value: This article is the first attempt to empirically test and explain why the relationship between CSR and firm performance may be different (more positive) for service vs manufacturing firms.
- The economic value of patent protection and rivalry in the Spanish electrical sectorSellers-Rubio, Ricardo; Nicolau, Juan Luis; Mas-Ruiz, Francisco J. (Emerald, 2007)Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the economic value of patent protection and the resulting rivalry. Design/methodology/approach: An event-study is applied which uses the daily returns of shares on the stock market as an output; and a model is estimated which bases its output on Tobin's q with annual observations. Findings: The results are determined by the methodology used and the measurement of the output dimensions of company performance. Both methodologies conclude that the patent application date is the determiner of the value of an innovation. The event study methodology reflects the positive value of patent protection. Research limitations/implications: The generalisation of the conclusions of the study to other economic sectors should be made with caution, given the fact that only the electrical sector was analysed. Originality/value: The literature available on this subject suggests that empirical evidence can be affected by operational problems related to the measurement of inventive input and output. As a new contribution to the field, the paper discovers the date of input (application or grant of the patent or both) on which the company manifests innovation.
- Estimating the willingness to pay for a sustainable wine using a Heckit modelSellers-Rubio, Ricardo; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Firenze University Press, 2016-01-01)Sustainability is an important challenge for wineries. Although sustainability represents a way to differentiate wines and to meet some market segment demands, it also constitutes a necessary strategy to guarantee the future development of the wine sector. However, some wineries state that production costs are higher for sustainable wines than for conventional wines. Thus, the goal of this paper is to analyze the premium price that consumers are willing to pay for a sustainable wine with respect to the price of a conventional wine with similar characteristics. An experiment based on contingent valuation was designed to test the differences in the willingness to pay for sustainable wines among market segments. Further, a Heckit model was estimated, which avoids the problems of the methodologies applied to date. Results reveal that most consumers are willing to pay a higher price for sustainable wines, and that there are differences among the main market segments. In addition, several variables regarding socio-economic characteristics of the consumer (age, gender and income) affect the willingness to pay. Results show that as consumers’ knowledge increases, willingness to pay a premium decreases and that consumers that are more concerned about the environment are willing to pay a higher premium.
- Testing the decoy effect in the presence of store brandsSellers-Rubio, Ricardo; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Emerald, 2015-01-01)Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test decoy effect in the framework of sales promotion, by conducting several experiments to figure out how this decoy effect is influenced by the presence or absence of a store brand. Design/methodology/approach – Several experiments have been conducted to test the validity of the decoy effect and rule out some explanations for the changes in demand that take place. The experiments consider three brands (two national brands and one store brand). All the brand names and prices employed in the experiment are real. Findings – The results indicate that, as expected, the inclusion of a decoy in the choice set significantly increases the consumer’s relative preference for the promoted product; however, more importantly, the results also show that store brand consumers are more influenced by a decoy than national brand consumers. Originality/value – This paper presents the first evidence of the decoy effect in the presence of store brands.