Brett Smith

Preserving the symmetry of estimated commuter travel elasticities

Travel price and time elasticities are increasingly being derived from discrete choice models of the multinomial or nested logit form. These elasticities are then applied to obtain predictions of changes in travel demand consequent on a policy change in prices and travel times. The majority of the choice elasticities are estimated within the behavioural setting of modal choice, holding total travel fixed. A few mode choice models have recently relaxed the multinomial logit model assumption of equal variance in all the random components of the indirect utility function to permit unconstrained variances across all alternatives (subject to identification for one alternative). This enables the derivation of behaviourally meaningful and unique cross choice elasticities for each pair of alternatives. Under constant variance, only the direct choice elasticities have behavioural meaning. While this is an important advance in discrete choice modelling, the derivation of share elasticities is conditional on a fixed total demand, and the procedure cannot be relied on to carry through two important properties of the model into the demand elasticity matrix--namely symmetry and zero share weighted column sums. This paper takes a set of empirically derived choice elasticities and presents a second stage procedure to adjust these elasticities to arrive at an internally consistent matrix of demand elasticities. We draw on a recent data set collected in Sydney which utilises revealed preference and stated choice data to estimate a joint model of ticket choice conditional on mode and choice of mode for commuter travel.

Lifecycle Stages and Residential Location Choice in the Presence of Latent Preference Heterogeneity

The choice of residential locations is affected by both dwelling and location characteristics. Preferences for these characteristics vary with each households requirements, traditionally attributed to the households lifecycle stage. With a cross-sectional study that identifies lifecycle stages according to household structure, this paper offers an investigation of residential location and shows that not all components of preference heterogeneity can be accounted for by household structure. Latent class choice models examine household segments according to lifestyle preferences. The results reveal the degree of association between identified household lifecycle segments and estimated lifestyle latent classes. The composition of the latent structure differs for each lifecycle segment; income and the age of the head of household strongly affect housing preferences, but do not lead to the same latent class structure for households at different lifecycle stages.

Business leaders’ views on the importance of strategic and dynamic capabilities for successful financial and non-financial business performance

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to report on research that identifies the relationships that senior managers believe exist between capabilities and business success. In doing so, it addresses the need for more empirical research about the role of strategic and dynamic capabilities in organisational performance. It also highlights the critical strategic and dynamic capabilities that are most valuable for practising managers. Design/methodology/approach - – A multi-method study was conducted. Eight types of strategic capability and ten types of dynamic capability commonly found in organisations were identified through consecutive literature review, web site content analysis and interviews with senior executives. A questionnaire survey was then used to ask senior officers of publicly listed Australian firms about the importance of each capability and financial and non-financial performance indicators. The relationship between capabilities and performance was measured by regression modelling. Findings - – Good leadership with an innovative vision and selection and retention of good staff and developing their skills and capabilities were the stand out strategic capabilities. Strategic thinking about the big picture and the long-term and flexible leaders who can lead and manage adaptation to change were considered to be the most important dynamic capabilities. Strategic capabilities were more often associated with indicators of financial success, and dynamic capabilities were more often associated with non-financial measures of organisational performance. Originality/value - – This is the first study to make a distinction between strategic and dynamic capabilities in examining the relationship between capabilities and business success. The results demonstrate that the distinction has both theoretical and practical value.

Validating Stated Preference Surveys through the Use of Hedonic Regression Models with an Application to Housing Prices around Transit Oriented Developments

This paper describes a survey of factors that affects residual relocation choices for families who had recently moved onto the Mandurah Railway corridor in Perth, Western Australia. This survey was undertaken using stated preference methods. While stated preference models are appropriate tools for valuating attributes of choice, there remains the concern of realism in an experimentally controlled environment. This paper validates stated preference models using hedonic pricing regressions based on observed real estate prices for three Perth-Mandurah Railway precincts. The results of the regressions are compared to those of the discrete choice models by examining the levels of significance of housing or neighborhood characteristics in each modeling paradigm, as well as a comparison of the closeness of the valuations for these characteristics. The findings indicate that factors that affect residential location are consistent whether observed by experimental data or by revealed choices in the market. From a planning perspective, the results indicate that not only housing features, but also neighborhood characteristics such as proximity to public transport hubs or local schools, affect residential property values.