HEC Montréal

About: HEC Montréal is a education organization based out in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Vehicle routing problem. The organization has 1221 authors who have published 5708 publications receiving 196862 citations. The organization is also known as: Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Montreal & HEC Montreal.

A Hierarchical Latent Variable Encoder-Decoder Model for Generating Dialogues

Abstract: Sequential data often possesses hierarchical structures with complex dependencies between sub-sequences, such as found between the utterances in a dialogue. To model these dependencies in a generative framework, we propose a neural network-based generative architecture, with stochastic latent variables that span a variable number of time steps. We apply the proposed model to the task of dialogue response generation and compare it with other recent neural-network architectures. We evaluate the model performance through a human evaluation study. The experiments demonstrate that our model improves upon recently proposed models and that the latent variables facilitate both the generation of meaningful, long and diverse responses and maintaining dialogue state.

Exact Solution of Large-Scale Hub Location Problems with Multiple Capacity Levels

Abstract: This paper presents an extension of the classical capacitated hub location problem with multiple assignments in which the amount of capacity installed at the hubs is part of the decision process. An exact algorithm based on a Benders decomposition of a strong path-based formulation is proposed to solve large-scale instances of two variants of the problem: the splittable and nonsplittable commodities cases. The standard decomposition algorithm is enhanced through the inclusion of features such as the generation of strong optimality cuts and the integration of reduction tests. Given that in the nonsplittable case the resulting subproblem is an integer program, we develop an efficient enumeration algorithm. Extensive computational experiments are performed to evaluate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed algorithms. Computational results obtained on benchmark instances with up to 300 nodes and five capacity levels confirm their efficiency.

Social Capital, Networks, Trust and Immigrant Entrepreneurship: A Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract: Purpose - This study is devoted to the empirical assessment of the macro-level impact of social capital on immigrant entrepreneurship (the general levels of immigrant entrepreneurship, as well as high-value added immigrant entrepreneurship).Design/methodology/approach - The paper applies multiple regression analysis to the data on immigrant entrepreneurship and high-value added immigrant entrepreneurship provided by OECD. The measures of the independent variables (the components of social capital) are based on World Value Survey.Findings - The results reveal that social capital does play a significant role in high-value added immigrant entrepreneurship in particular and immigrant entrepreneurship in general. With strong statistical significance, three social capital factors – networking, interpersonal trust, and institutional trust – provide an explanation for variations in immigrant entrepreneurship across countries.Originality/value - Although the literature has long pointed out the importance of social capital as a determinant of economic activity, entrepreneurship researchers have focused much attention on the impact of personal, economic, and politico-administrative factors while leaving social capital factors largely unexamined. Thus study offers a systematic analysis of the effects of social capital on immigrant entrepreneurship and high-value added immigrant entrepreneurship at a macro level and discusses policy-making implications.

The Statement of Corporate Governance Practices (SCGP) A Voluntary Disclosure and Corporate governance Perspective

Abstract: Corporate governance has recently given rise to concern and public debate in Canada and on the international scene. Reaction in Canada has focused on extending the regulation of corporate disclosure with regard to corporate governance. Following the recommendation of the Dey Report, companies are now required by the TSE to provide a Statement of Corporate Governance Practices (SCGP). The need for regulation to influence corporate governance structure and disclosure is often challenged in the literature. This study contributes to the debate by providing empirical evidence to regulators on the incentives for some corporations to engage in better quality SCGP than others. The existing voluntary disclosure and corporate governance literatures are used to develop hypotheses about explanatory variables. The CICA's published ratings for 1996 and 1997 of firms' SCGP serve as benchmarks for disclosure quality, the dependant variable. Except for size and, to a lesser extent, ownership structure, we did not find consistent and significant relations between the SCGP quality and firm performance or other corporate governance variables such as the proportion of unrelated director, the CEO's plurality of offices and the level of financing activity. Thus, our study falls short of providing a basis for further regulatory action in the area of corporate governance disclosure.