We consider the definition and measurement of contagion by analysing the 1997 East Asian financial crisis in the equity markets of eight countries using dynamic conditional correlation (DCC). Taking Thailand and Hong Kong as alternative sources of contagion, a total of fourteen source-target pairs is analyzed. We define contagion as the statistical break in the computed DCCs as measured by the shifts in their means and medians. In the DCC process, the parameters of each pair of source-target country contagion are allowed to vary and be dictated by the data. Contagion is tested using DCC means and medians difference tests. Our findings indicate the presence of contagion in the equity markets across all the fourteen pairs of source-target countries that are considered.

This article examines the characteristics of key measures of volatility for different types of futures contracts to provide a better foundation for modeling volatility behavior and derivative values. Particular attention is focused on analyzing how different measures of volatility affect volatility persistence relationships. Intraday realized measures of volatility are found to be more persistent than daily measures, the type of GARCH procedure used for conditional volatility analysis is critical, and realized volatility persistence is not coherent with conditional volatility persistence. Specifically, although there is a good fit between the realized and conditional volatilities, no coherence exists between their degrees of persistence, a counterintuitive finding that shows realized and conditional volatility measures are not a substitute for one another.

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To survive in increasingly competitive markets, customer focused organizations are challenged to create and sustain long term loyal and supportive customers. To ensure long term service quality, organizations need to have quality focused internal structures and processes in place to support those on the front line who make or break the organization’s reputation with their customers. This paper introduces nine scientifically developed measures of internal structures and processes that are associated with service quality. These measures are applicable to organizations in a variety of industries in both the public and private sectors and can serve to benchmark “best in class” practices. They were developed from ratings obtained from 8,924 employees from over 100 organizations. When organizations provide supportive structures and processes for their front line employees, these employees are better able to provide top quality products and services to their external customers.