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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to attempt to look at the link between labor market risks and social insurance demands by taking occupational unemployment rates, and specificity of skills into account. Design/methodology/approach - Occupational unemployment rate is treated as an estimate of labor market risk in addition to human capital investment. Then, the variations in Germany and the USA - with diverse labor markets and a considerable difference in terms of social insurance support - are examined. Findings - The results suggest that occupational unemployment rate is explanatory for the demands for social insurance along with income. Practical implications - Conclusions reached in the paper aim to contribute to the understanding of the political support for social insurance and hence provide tools for the design of such insurance mechanisms. Originality/value - Contrary to the widespread association between the type of human capital and social insurance preferences in the literature, the paper argues that the cross-country variations can be explained by occupational unemployment rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Training designs are critical to the success of intercultural training programs. A common typology for classifying intercultural training designs distinguishes among the following dimensions: experiential discovery versus didactic expository and culture-specific venus culture-general training. The purpose of this paper is to assess different intercultural training designs referring to this typology. First, a concept of intercultural competence is developed. Based on this concept experiential training designs are favored as they allow to train the cognitive, affective and behavioral component of intercultural competencies. In the second part of the paper an empirical study in the USA and Germany is conducted in order to assess whether the degree of intercultural competencies differs between the two nations. As no considerable differences can be identified the benefit of culture-general training is discussed. Significant skills to be focused on in intercultural training are described and specific measures for pre-assessment devices in intercultural training are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, the degree to which career adaptability, career optimism, and career knowledge predict career decisiveness in China, Germany, and the US is to be examined; second, the effect of the five personality traits on the determinants of career decisiveness, on career decisiveness, and on the relation between career decisiveness and its determinants in the three countries is to be investigated. Design/methodology/approach -- A survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire. The sample consists of 555 business students from three countries: China (196), Germany (210), and the USA (149). A two-stage OLS regression analysis was applied for assessing the relation between career decisiveness, its determinants, and the personality traits. Findings -- The results show that personality traits have direct and moderating effects on career decisiveness and its antecedents. In addition, the influence of personality and the antecedents of career decisiveness differ in the three countries examined. Research limitations/implications -- The conclusions of this study may be subject to several limitations that suggest further possibilities for empirical research, e.g. the study does not examine the influence of cultural traits on career decisiveness, its determinants, and their relation. Practical implications -- The identified cross-country differences lead to the need for diverse career counseling for students with different personalities in different countries. Originality/value -- So far research on students' career decisiveness has focused only on national samples. The explorative paper examines the influence of personality traits on business students' career decisiveness in three countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- As the interest in talent management (TM) gathers momentum, this paper aims to unravel how talent is managed in multinational corporations, what factors mediate the talent management process and what computerised systems may contribute to the management of talent. Design/methodology/approach -- The study employs a single case study but multiple units of analysis approach to elucidate the factors pertaining to the transmission and use of talent management practices across the German and Irish subsidiaries of a US multinational corporation. Primary data for this study derive from a series of in-depth interviews with key decision makers, which include managers at various levels in Germany, Ireland and The Netherlands. Findings -- The findings suggest that the diffusion of, and success of, talent management practices is contingent on a combination of factors, including stakeholder involvement and top level support, micro-political exchanges, and the integration of talent management with a global human resource information system. Furthermore, the discussion illuminates the utility and limitations of Cappelli's "talent on demand" framework. Research limitations/implications -- The main limitation of this research is the adoption of a single case study method. As a result, the findings may not be applicable to a wider population of organisations and subsidiaries. Additional research will be required to substantiate the relevance of these findings in the context of other subsidiaries of the same and other corporations. Practical implications -- This paper accentuates a number of practical implications. Inter alia, it highlights the complex nature of institutional factors affecting the talent management process and the potential efficacy of a human resource information system in managing talent globally. Originality/value -- The paper extends the body of knowledge on the transfer of talent management practices in the subsidiaries of multinational corporations. The discussion presented herein may engender further academic debate on the talent management process in the academic and practitioner communities. The link between talent management and the use of human resource information systems established by this research may be of particular interest to human resource practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the high rates of economic growth of the US economy and the remarkable acceleration of productivity growth since the mid-1990s which is widely attributed to the modern information and communication technologies (ICTs). Design/methodology/approach After identifying three key factors for Solow's productivity puzzle and examining ICTs as a general purpose technology, three main channels of ICTs' impact in the economy are discussed: the first transmission channel is direct and consists of the effects generated by rapid technical progress within the ICT-capital goods producing sector. The second one is due to the increasing accumulation and application of ICT goods and services in the user sectors. ICTs' positive spillover effects comprise the third transmission channel, i.e. they lead to "disembodied" increases in efficiency in the sense of "learning by doing" in the end-user sector. Findings - The diffusion of ICTs requires investment in all industries, i.e. the improvement of competitiveness on the macro level is strongly linked to investment activities and skill qualifications on the micro level. Research limitations/implications The paper concludes with some comparisons between the US and the German economy where the acute need for infrastructure investment in East Germany in the 1990s limited the possibilities for investment in ICTs exactly at a time of high-technological dynamism at the start of an upswing of a new Kondratieff cycle. Although some comparisons with the EU are made the impact of ICTs in other countries except the USA and Germany is not discussed more intensively. Practical implications A very useful source of information for graduate students and policy makers alike on the theoretical and empirical impact of new technologies on economic development. Originality/value - This paper fulfils an information need for comparing growth in international perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - How many hours per week should workers in the USA and Germany spend at their paying jobs? The present paper aims to address this question by constructing policymakers' reaction functions capable of modelling the optimal length of working time as a function of the relevant labour market variables. Design/methodology/approach - The study is based on a counterfactual policy experiment. Given a policymaker's loss function and a structural model of the labour market alternative specifications of reaction functions are defined where the response coefficients indicate how policymakers should react to any news in the labour market in order to stabilise employment and wages. Findings - The results suggest that simple rules perform quite well and that the advantages obtained from adopting an optimal control-based rule are not so great. Moreover, the analysis emphasises the success of the wage-based rule and of the employment-based rule in the USA and Germany, respectively. Research limitations/implications - The study is based on a counterfactual policy experiment, which perhaps limits its operational value. Practical implications - Labour market authorities might stabilise employment and wages by implementing policy rules. Originality/value - The paper proposes a policy rule to capture the dynamics of the weekly working hours. According to the rule in the paper the length of the workweek is an inverse function of the deviation between the actual and potential employment level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to explain a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the SEC and BaFin designed to facilitate their supervision of internationally active firms and their oversight of markets. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper explains the scope of supervisory consultation, cooperation, and exchange of information relating to firms, related entities, and dual-regulated entities; describes procedures for on-site visits of regulated entities and dual-regulated entities; discusses the intended framework for cooperation with regard to affiliated markets; explains how requests for assistance should be executed; outlines permissible uses and procedures for requesting confidential information; and discusses the possible gathering of information under the auspices of the MOU for enforcement purposes. Findings -- The paper finds that the MOU sets forth the terms and conditions for the sharing of information about regulated entities and financial groups that operate in the USA and Germany and, in view of the growing trend toward cross-border exchange affiliations, outlines a framework for cooperation in the oversight of markets in both countries. Originality/value -- The paper provides a practical insight from an experienced lawyer who is an expert in German and cross-border securities regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine whether sentiment toward marketing differs between students attending universities in the USA and Germany. Design/methodology/approach - The sample was drawn from students attending classes in professional programs at two universities in the USA and two universities in Germany. The resulting sample sizes were 312 from the Germany institutions and 392 from the US institutions. Sentiment toward marketing was measured using the Index of Consumer Sentiment toward Marketing. Findings - The hypothesis that students attending universities in Germany possess lower sentiments toward marketing is supported. Only the first hypothesis addressing the individual aspects of marketing is supported; however, a significant (at the 0.05 level) difference was only observed for sentiment toward advertising. In that instance, students attending universities in Germany were shown to possess more negative sentiment toward advertising than students attending universities in the USA. Practical implications - The lower sentiment toward advertising among students attending universities in Germany may be expected to present a challenge to marketers attempting to reach these individuals. Their lower sentiment toward advertising may lead German students to be less likely to accept messages conveyed via advertising than their counterparts in the USA. Originality/value - Past research suggests that differences in sentiment toward marketing exist between consumers residing in nations at different stages of development and with differing types of market structures. Do differences exist, however, between different nations at similar levels of development? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the findings of a study of multinational underwriting cycles in property-liability insurance in Switzerland, Germany, the United States and Japan. A description of the study design and methodology is given. The study provides a hypothesis that the factors affecting underwriting cycles are mainly country-specific rather than global/international.

At the level of aggregate expenditures, variables explaining consumption functions are usually deflated by price indices on the plausible assumption that consumers are influenced by variables in "real" rather than monetary terms[1]. This procedure may be appropriate for permanent income and life cycle theory approaches as developed by Friedman and Modigliani because, in the long run, consumers strive for the standard of living that can be reached by people of their education and income level, the standard of living being measured in terms of real estate and car ownership, ownership of household durables and so forth. But "evidence continues to accumulate that the assumption of consumers being influenced by variables in real terms rather than in monetary terms is contrary to fact and that consumers are subject to the money illusion"[2]. Branson and Klevorick, in an attempt to investigate the money illusion in the aggregate consumption function, come to the conclusion that, "in the short run, the price level has an independent effect on real consumption"[3]. Their conclusion is at least plausible for a period of "creeping" inflation. As long as the rise in nominal income is not matched by a compensating rise in the price level, consumers may not worry too much about rising prices. They are cognisant of their growing standard of living and may even be inclined to justify rising prices on the grounds that they are purchasing better quality products and services. This mentality of consumers may be expected to change in periods of lower increases in nominal income and growing rates of inflation. If the rate of inflation has been exceeding the long-run average for a number of years and if the economic outlook does not suggest a change for the... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]