Tilburg University

About: Tilburg University is a education organization based out in Tilburg, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 5550 authors who have published 22330 publications receiving 791335 citations.

Lending to small businesses : The role of loan maturity in addressing information problems

Abstract: We investigate what determines the maturity of lines of credit to small businesses. Our results provide strong support for the hypothesis that shorter loan maturities serve to mitigate the problems associated with borrower risk and asymmetric information that are typical of small business lending. We find that maturity is shorter for firm owners that have poor credit histories, are older, and less experienced, and for firms that are more informationally opaque. Supporting the notion that collateral and maturity are substitute mechanisms in mitigating agency problems, we also find strong evidence that maturity increases with collateral pledges, that personal collateral is associated with longer maturities than business collateral, and that collateral types that better mitigate agency problems reduce the sensitivity of loan maturity to informational asymmetries and risk. Finally, while it is argued that relationship lending may mitigate information asymmetry, we find no relation between loan maturity and stronger firm-creditor ties.

Towards collaborative, intermodal hub networks. A case study in the fast moving consumer goods market

Abstract: Collaborative hub networks can provide an answer to the need to decrease logistics cost and maintain logistics service levels by shifting consolidated flows to modes that are better suited for handling large volumes (rail, barge, coastal shipping), so economies of scale can be obtained. This necessity has been increased by the tendency of globalization of industries, smaller shipments sizes, high frequencies, and the fragmentation of flows. Through collaboration the necessary synchronization between expensive but fast and flexible means of transport and inexpensive, but slow and inflexible means can be combined in an intermodal hub network. This paper shows the rationale behind these collaborative hub networks, based on the literature on the design of many-to-many hub networks. The resulting methodology is explained through presenting the results of the design and implementation of collaborative hub network for the distribution of fast moving consumer goods using a combination of trucking and inland barges. This concept, first proposed by Vermunt [Vermunt, A.J.M., 1999. Multilognet, the intelligent multimodal logistics network, an important node in the worldwide logistics net, Vermunt Logistiek Advies v.o.f., working paper (in Dutch)], won the European Intermodal Award of the European Intermodal Association in 2003, and after extensive research was launched in The Netherlands as a commercial pilot by logistics service provider Vos Logistics and barge operator Riverhopper in January 2004. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparing Regional Cultures Within a Country: Lessons From Brazil:

Abstract: In this joint article we test the common assumption that a measure of culture developed for the national level can also be used for comparing regions within a country. Three different research projects independently measured culture differences within the Federal Republic of Brazil, all three using a version of Hofstede’s Values Survey Module (VSM). The largest provided separate scores for all of Brazil’s 27 states, the next largest for 17 of the more populous states. Factor analyses of VSM item scores across states in both cases only very partly replicated Hofstede’s cross-national dimension structure; only Individualism versus Collectivism reappeared clearly. We attribute this lack of fit to a restriction of range of VSM item scores among states within a common Brazilian national culture. The item scores did show a cultural clustering of states that fairly closely followed the administrative division of the country into five regions. The culture profiles for these regions show remarkable differences bet...

Structural Equivalence in Multilevel Research

Abstract: In cross-cultural research, there is an increasing interest in the comparison of constructs at different levels of aggregation, such as the use of individualism—collectivism at the individual and country levels. A procedure is described for establishing structural equivalence (i.e., similarity of psychological meaning) at various levels of aggregation based on exploratory factor analysis. A construct shows structural equivalence across aggregation levels if its factor structure is invariant across levels. The procedure was applied to the Postmaterialism scale of the World Values Survey. The similarity of postmaterialism at the individual and country levels could not be unambiguously demonstrated; a likely reason is that the concept does not have an identical meaning in countries with low and high gross national products.

Scared to death? Generalized anxiety disorder and cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary heart disease : The Heart and Soul Study

Abstract: Context Anxiety is common in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), but studies examining the effect of anxiety on cardiovascular prognosis and the role of potential mediators have yielded inconsistent results. Objectives To evaluate the effect of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) on subsequent cardiovascular events and the extent to which this association is explained by cardiac disease severity and potential behavioral or biological mediators. Design Prospective cohort study (Heart and Soul Study). Setting Participants were recruited between September 11, 2000, and December 20, 2002, from 12 outpatient clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area and were followed up until March 18, 2009. Participants One thousand fifteen outpatients with stable CHD followed up for a mean (SD) of 5.6 (1.8) years. Main Outcome Measures We determined the presence of GAD using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the association of GAD with subsequent cardiovascular events and the extent to which this association was explained by potential confounders and mediators. Results A total of 371 cardiovascular events occurred during 5711 person-years of follow-up. The age-adjusted annual rate of cardiovascular events was 9.6% in the 106 participants with GAD and 6.6% in the 909 participants without GAD ( P = .03). After adjustment for demographic characteristics, comorbid conditions (including major depressive disorder), cardiac disease severity, and medication use, GAD remained associated with a 62% higher rate of cardiovascular events (hazard ratio, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-2.37; P = .01). Additional adjustment for a variety of potential behavioral and biological mediators had little effect on this association (hazard ratio, 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-2.67; P = .01). Conclusions In outpatients with CHD, a robust association between GAD and cardiovascular events was found that could not be explained by disease severity, health behaviors, or biological mediators. How GAD leads to poor cardiovascular outcomes deserves further study.