International franchising success factors: A guide for Australian franchise systems. Australia is considered the most 'franchised' nation in the world. With 850 franchisors, it has over three times the number of systems per capita than the United States. However, Australian franchises are small due to the country's limited population, with 60% of systems holding fewer than 30 units. One third of Australian franchisors now operates internationally, however little is known about how they plan an ....International franchising success factors: A guide for Australian franchise systems. Australia is considered the most 'franchised' nation in the world. With 850 franchisors, it has over three times the number of systems per capita than the United States. However, Australian franchises are small due to the country's limited population, with 60% of systems holding fewer than 30 units. One third of Australian franchisors now operates internationally, however little is known about how they plan and implement their expansion strategies. It appears that franchisors are reacting to approaches made by overseas investors rather than proactively developing international expansion strategies. This research will examine the practices of successful exporters to develop a model of best practice for future activity in the sector.Read moreRead less
Heterogeneity, Wage Inequality, Unemployment, and Economic Growth. This project would provide the first internally consistent theory of wage inequality, unemployment and economic growth - and the roles that government policy variables play in determining them. It would use and extend frontier developments in theory, and identify the settings of policy variables (unemployment insurance, tax structures, education policies) that maximise social welfare, given that governments must satisfy their bud ....Heterogeneity, Wage Inequality, Unemployment, and Economic Growth. This project would provide the first internally consistent theory of wage inequality, unemployment and economic growth - and the roles that government policy variables play in determining them. It would use and extend frontier developments in theory, and identify the settings of policy variables (unemployment insurance, tax structures, education policies) that maximise social welfare, given that governments must satisfy their budget constraints. It also aims to uncover the relationship between the innate abilities of workers and their education choices - and the consequences for macro economies and public policy.Read moreRead less
Building Better Brands: A Study of Australian Organizations and Consumers. The study is the first to be undertaken in the world to develop a knowledge management system of brand development and management. It focuses on understanding how branding strategies increase the competitiveness of Australian industry. The study also explores linkages of branding strategy to consumer perceptions of brand value. The model is firmly placed in a global market context, contrasting domestic, exported and im ....Building Better Brands: A Study of Australian Organizations and Consumers. The study is the first to be undertaken in the world to develop a knowledge management system of brand development and management. It focuses on understanding how branding strategies increase the competitiveness of Australian industry. The study also explores linkages of branding strategy to consumer perceptions of brand value. The model is firmly placed in a global market context, contrasting domestic, exported and imported brands. The focus is strongly orientated toward improving Australia's competitiveness and global performance. This study is vital as the economic superiority of strong nations is evident in the value and strength of their industries' brands.Read moreRead less
Conceptualisation and Measurement of Customer Value: An Application to the Timeshare Industry. Timeshare or resort ownership is a growing industry worldwide. There are more than 110 timeshare properties in Australia, most of which are located in regional communities. This research will benefit these communities through the provision of information to enhance and sustain the development of this expanding industry. The information obtained will assist the collaborating organisation in the transfor ....Conceptualisation and Measurement of Customer Value: An Application to the Timeshare Industry. Timeshare or resort ownership is a growing industry worldwide. There are more than 110 timeshare properties in Australia, most of which are located in regional communities. This research will benefit these communities through the provision of information to enhance and sustain the development of this expanding industry. The information obtained will assist the collaborating organisation in the transformation of the industry, while addressing some of the concerns raised in a 2005 Parliamentary Inquiry. The project examines how consumers obtain value from the timeshare product. The project has the potential to be applied internationally thus providing export opportunities for Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101014
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$349,785.00
Summary
Extending economic design to non-market settings: An experimental study of mechanism design with intention-based preferences. Mechanism design is the engineering side of economic theory, which starts with assumptions regarding human nature and builds economic systems to best maximise efficiency according to these assumptions. This project studies mechanism design in experimental settings where individuals exhibit a desire to be kind to those who have been kind to them and unkind to those who ha ....Extending economic design to non-market settings: An experimental study of mechanism design with intention-based preferences. Mechanism design is the engineering side of economic theory, which starts with assumptions regarding human nature and builds economic systems to best maximise efficiency according to these assumptions. This project studies mechanism design in experimental settings where individuals exhibit a desire to be kind to those who have been kind to them and unkind to those who have not. Such preferences are common in many non-market settings and can have dramatic effects on the efficiency of potential mechanisms. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop applied mechanisms that are robust to heterogeneity in such intention-based preferences and which can be used in bilateral exchange, contract design and many other non-market settings.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120102640
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Behavioural foundations of economic design for an uncertain world. The aim of this project is to incorporate behavioural foundations into mechanism design to improve our understanding of economic institutions in incomplete information environments. To accomplish this goal, it considers a framework where agents have reference-dependent preferences and explores implications of this assumption for economic design.
Banks, endogenous network formations and financial crisis. This project aims to understand how endogenous network formations affect financial crisis and how such situations can be made into a coherent microeconomic model of financial network formations using modern tools in economics. The project intends to study the properties of financial systems in the presence of possible financial crisis, conduct applied economic policy analysis and provide policy implications for lifting productivity and e ....Banks, endogenous network formations and financial crisis. This project aims to understand how endogenous network formations affect financial crisis and how such situations can be made into a coherent microeconomic model of financial network formations using modern tools in economics. The project intends to study the properties of financial systems in the presence of possible financial crisis, conduct applied economic policy analysis and provide policy implications for lifting productivity and economic growth. The projects expected outcomes would contribute to the theoretical understanding of financial crisis and consequences in financial markets as well as the economy and public policy. In the longer term, the project should benefit the health of the financial system.Read moreRead less
Identifying, attracting and retaining successful foster parents. This research project will improve Australian foster care systems. By developing tools to identify, attract and retain successful foster parents more effectively we will address two critical problems facing foster care organisations: decreasing numbers of foster parents and increasing numbers of 'placement breakdowns'. Improvements of these factors will (1) give foster children a more positive and healthier start to life; (2) reduc ....Identifying, attracting and retaining successful foster parents. This research project will improve Australian foster care systems. By developing tools to identify, attract and retain successful foster parents more effectively we will address two critical problems facing foster care organisations: decreasing numbers of foster parents and increasing numbers of 'placement breakdowns'. Improvements of these factors will (1) give foster children a more positive and healthier start to life; (2) reduce the extent to which foster children develop antisocial and emotional attachment problems; (3) reduce the incidence of criminal and antisocial behaviours among foster children; and consequently (4) have a positive long-term effect on the social fabric of Australia.Read moreRead less
Status seeking and economic behaviour. The project will look at the importance of status seeking behaviour for the health system, behavioural experiments, international growth, and labelling. The insights will be useful for optimal redistribution policies, international cooperation, and behavioural research.
Designing for uncertainty in conservation auctions. Economic theory and case study evidence show that tenders or auctions are more efficient than grant mechanisms for encouraging landholders to produce environmental outcomes on private land. These studies have ignored the effects of uncertainty of both bidders and administrators about factors such as landholder participation and the level of environmental benefits that will be delivered. This project will test whether distributing environmental ....Designing for uncertainty in conservation auctions. Economic theory and case study evidence show that tenders or auctions are more efficient than grant mechanisms for encouraging landholders to produce environmental outcomes on private land. These studies have ignored the effects of uncertainty of both bidders and administrators about factors such as landholder participation and the level of environmental benefits that will be delivered. This project will test whether distributing environmental funds via tenders is still efficient when uncertainty about various important factors is considered. Results from this research are expected to inform the cost effective design of systems to pay landholders for the provision of environmental benefits even when there is high uncertainty.Read moreRead less