Proposing effective strategies for meeting an environmental regulation with attainable technology improvement targets

The Japanese government will adopt the CAFE standard after 2020. By using a “modified” slacks-based measure (SBM) model, this study analyzed the technical efficiency of 113 gasoline vehicle models (GVs) and 54 hybrid vehicle models (HVs) sold by Japanese manufacturers in 2016. We also estimated attainable fuel efficiency of specific vehicle models that can be further improved referring to the nearest point on the best practice frontier. The improved CAFE values and standards of the nine automobile manufacturers were calculated. The technology gap from the vehicle technology frontier was more noticeable among gasoline vehicles than among hybrids. Moreover, most automobile manufacturers can achieve the CAFE standard through an effective achievement strategy based on best practice technologies, whereas the others will not achieve the CAFE standard even given a rapid technology innovation beyond the best practice frontiers for GVs and HVs.     

The impact of contextual factors on the efficacy of ISO 9000 adoption

This study investigates the importance of contextual factors on the efficacy of ISO 9000 adoption. We explore the role of various contextual factors at the firm-level (i.e., technology intensity, labor productivity, and labor intensity) and industry-level (i.e., industry efficiency level, industry competitiveness, industry sales growth, and industry ISO 9000 adoption level) that potentially impact the efficacy of ISO 9000 adoption. We carry out a hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis based on objective financial data from 438 U.S. manufacturing firms. The results show that firms with low technology intensity, low labor productivity and high labor intensity reap more benefit from ISO 9000 adoption. Firms in industries with low efficiency levels, high competition, high sales growth and low ISO 9000 adoption levels also obtain more benefit from the adoption. Our research provides supporting evidence for the context-dependent proposition of ISO 9000 adoption. Given the significant costs and resources involved, it is crucial for operations managers to assess to what extent ISO 9000 might benefit their performance before embarking on the implementation process.     

Demand chain management in manufacturing and services: web-based integration, drivers and performance

This paper investigated the relationship between Internet-enabled supply chain integration strategies and performance in manufacturing and services. It summarizes the literature on demand and supply integration and describes four web-based strategies. A stratified random sample was collected from UK manufacturers and services, and there was strong evidence that demand chain management (DCM) led to the highest performance in manufacturing, but few signs of DCM in services. Manufacturers and services relying on only web-based demand or supply integration outperformed their low integration counterparts, but lagged DCM in manufacturing. The study also investigated DCM adoption drivers and found that rational efficiency and bandwagon effects drove change. The findings have some important implications for theory as well as for manufacturing and service companies interested in improving their performance.     

PROMOTING INNOVATION IN THE ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY

Smart metering can bring significant benefits to electricity markets by allowing customers to reduce demand or increase supply when generation capacity is temporarily scarce. To reap the full efficiency and environmental benefits of this technology, regulators must allow price volatility and free entry into the market. The efficiency gains are enormous as both demand and supply will be affected by both temporary and longer‐lasting price changes. Experiments have shown the value of this approach.     

Direct Marketing in Oligopoly

We consider a game in which symmetric manufacturers decide whether to set up sites (e.g., web sites) where consumers can buy their products directly. Following this decision, the manufacturers choose quantities to sell to the retailers, and then the manufacturers with direct‐sales sites and retailers choose quantities to sell to the consumers. We show that since an increase in the number of retailers may drive the direct‐selling manufacturers from the retail market, it may raise the retailers’ profit and reduce social welfare. Finally, we discuss two cases: an oligopolistic wholesale market and a market with price competition and differentiated products.     

Environmental Policies and Firm Value

Many organizations are currently becoming more environmentally friendly. Eco‐efficiency maximizes the effectiveness of a business operation while reducing its impact on the environment; with the necessary skills, organizations can create more value while using less input. Prior empirical studies have suggested that firms engaging in eco‐efficient activities are better valued than those without such activities. Therefore, this will enhance business efficiency and excellence. This study investigates the link between eco‐efficiency, as environmental policy, and firm value in the United Kingdom (UK) for the period 1999 to 2008. We generate new insights into environmental–financial performance by using different definitions of the term ‘eco‐efficiency’. In the UK context our results support that eco‐efficient firms have higher market values than those lacking environmental strategies. Hence, we recommend that firms become involved in environmental polices since the adoption of these polices will have a positive impact on firm value. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

ICT Adoption and Heterogeneity in Production Technologies: Evidence for Chilean Retailers*

The adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) can have far‐reaching effects on the nature of production technologies. Because ICT adoption is incomplete, especially in developing countries, different groups of firms will have different production technologies. We estimate a latent class stochastic frontier model, which allows us to test for the existence of multiple production technologies across firms and consider the associated implications for efficiency measures. We use a unique data set of Chilean retailers, which includes detailed information on ICT adoption. We find three distinct production technologies. The probability of membership in a more productive group is positively related to ICT use.     

Bailing on the Car That Was Not Bailed Out: Bounding Consumer Reactions to Financial Distress

We examine how consumers react to the financial distress of durable goods manufacturers by studying the Swedish new car market. We employ a difference‐in‐differences matching methodology whereby we compare sales of carmaker Saab with those of a control group of substitute products. To account for possible substitution between products in the treatment and control groups, we propose and apply bounds to our difference‐in‐differences matching estimator. We then refine the bounds and provide conditions under which they depend only on product elasticities. We find that there was a significant decrease in the sales of Saab following its filing for administration.     

The regional economic impacts of voluntary pollution prevention in New Jersey

Recent experience with voluntary pollution prevention (P2) for five industries in the state of New Jersey is examined. Using a regional econometric model, it is estimated that P2 will increase regional value added between $3 million and $5 million per year between 1994 and 2005 (1994 US dollars). Most of this gain is in the chemical sector. While small, given the size of the industries studied, the level of P2 in these industries is also small. Furthermore, these estimates exclude environmental benefits and returns from recycling. One significant contribution of the research is to examine the economic impact on the chemical industry of P2-related reductions in sales. Surprisingly, it is found that P2 may well increase the demand for chemicals locally, because increased efficiency will allow local firms to expand exports. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.     

商业模式创新与审计收费——基于线上销售的视角

考察企业线上销售这一商业模式创新对审计收费的影响，基于2009—2020年我国全部A股上市公司的年报数据，利用Python语言构建企业开展线上销售的度量指标，实证研究发现,企业开展线上销售会使得审计收费显著增加,该结论在经过一系列稳健性检验后仍然成立。从机制检验结果来看，线上销售增加了审计风险，导致审计师采取更多的应对措施，从而提高了审计收费。异质性分析结果表明，“四大”事务所、具有行业专长以及具有较高信息技术水平的审计师审计会削弱线上销售对审计收费的正向影响。总之，厘清了线上销售这一商业模式创新对上市公司审计收费的影响及作用机制，加深了关于商业模式创新对企业经营及审计行为影响的认识，同时也为推动审计行业转型发展提供了有益启示。     

Sales by multi‐product retailers

This paper examines the rationale underlying periodic price promotions, or sales, for perishable food products by supermarket retailers. Whereas previous studies explain sales in a single‐product context as arising from informational, storage cost, or demand heterogeneity, this study focuses on the central role of retailers as multi‐product sellers of complementary goods. By offering a larger number of discounted products within a particular category, retailers are able to attract a sufficient number of customers to offset the effect of lower margins on sale items by selling more high‐margin items. The implications that emerge from the resulting mixed‐strategy equilibrium are tested in a product‐level, retail‐scanner data set of fresh fruit sales. Hypotheses regarding the rationale and effectiveness of sales are tested by estimating econometric models that describe (1) the number of sales items per store, (2) the depth of a given sale, and (3) promotion effectiveness on store‐level demand. The results of this econometric analysis support the hypothesis that the breadth and depth of price promotions are complementary marketing tools, thus explaining how EDLP and HI‐LO store formats can exist in the same monopolistically competitive market equilibrium. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trade,technology and skills: Evidence from Turkish microdata

In this paper we report evidence on the relationship between trade openness, technology adoption and the relative demand for skilled labour in the Turkish manufacturing sector, using firm-level data over the period 1980–2001. In a dynamic panel data setting, using a unique database comprising data from 17,462 firms, we estimate an augmented cost share equation whereby the wage bill share of skilled workers in a given firm is related to international exposure and technology adoption.It emerges that R&D expenditures are positive and significantly related to skill upgrading. This result supports the skill-biased technological change argument in the case of a middle-income country such as Turkey.Moreover, the firm-level analysis reveals a positive impact of technological transfer from abroad, foreign ownership and exporting status on the demand for skills, highlighting the role of increasing international openness in fostering skill upgrading within firms.Our microdata also allow us to investigate the direct impact of import flows in shaping the relative demand for skills. The results show that those firms belonging to the sectors experiencing rapid increase in the share of inputs imported from industrialised countries also experience a higher increase in the labour cost share of skilled workers. This finding provides further support for the hypothesis that imports from industrialised countries imply a transfer of new technologies, in turn leading to a higher demand for skilled labour (the so-called skill-enhancing trade hypothesis).     

中小汽车企业经销商电子商务管理系统的设计

本文研究的对象是基于中小汽车企业的经销商电子商务管理系统。针对中小型汽车制造企业现有的销售中存在的诸多问题,经过反复的调研实践,通过切实合理的销售流程分析,为中小型汽车制造企业的经销商设计并开发了经销商管理系统。该系统主要完善并改进了汽车销售中的内部管理,旨在提高销售过程中的经销商内部业务管理水平的能力,在中小型汽车制造企业和经销商之间构建一个有效的共同渠道,打破了企业与经销商之间信息交互的屏障,提高企业的效率,促进销售的增长,增强中小汽车企业的市场竞争能力。     

The response of prices,sales, and output to temporary changes in demand

We determine empirically how automakers accommodate shocks to demand. Using data on production, sales, and transaction prices, we estimate a dynamic profit maximization model of the firm. We demonstrate that when an automaker is hit with a vehicle‐specific demand shock, sales respond immediately and prices respond very modestly. Further, when accounting for non‐convexities in the cost function, production responds with a delay. Over time, shocks are absorbed almost entirely through adjustments in sales and production rather than prices. We examine two recent demand shocks: the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire recall of 2000, and the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

家电下乡营销策略研究——以新飞电器为例

家电下乡政策给家电生产企业带来了良好的发展机会,面对潜力巨大而又疲软的农村市场,家电企业应根据农村的实际需求,制定可行的营销策略。本文对于企业的家电下乡营销策略存在的问题进行分析,在此基础上提出如下建议:产品要量身定做,价格方面要薄利多销,分销策略以三四级市场为主,促销策略要适应农村文化特点。     

不对称信息的供应链激励机制研究

研究由单个制造商和单个零售商组成二级供应链,基于市场需求是线性的,且受价格与销售努力的影响。首先,研究在对称信息下,集中模式和分散模式两种情况下的供应链,求出制造商和零售商使得利润达到最优时的最优批发价及销售价;其次,研究了在信息不对称情况下,制造商的机制设计问题,得到了制造商激励批发价的表达式以及零售商的最优零售价的公式;最后利用实例仿真对模型进行分析,结果表明该激励机制对整个供应链的收益有改善作用。     

政企双层规划下考虑碳配额的供应链网络优化

构建了政企互动决策下考虑碳配额的双层规划模型,随后采用多目标粒子群优化算法求解模型,最后解析碳配额和需求不确定置信水平变化对供应链网络Pareto最优解集的影响。研究表明政企互动决策过程中存在最优碳配额,且随着政府部门根据双寡头制造商的反馈合理调整碳配额,上层规划模型中政府部门考虑双寡头制造商反馈的调整系数增大,双寡头制造商能够引导其它供应链企业减少间接碳排放,导致供应链网络总成本和碳排放持续减少。随着市场需求不确定置信水平升高,需求预测的精度降低,各设施间流量增加,需要增设备选设施,供应链网络总成本和碳排放也随之增加。     

电子商务平台顾客感知价值对购买行为及企业未来销售的影响

在全球经济一体化深入发展的今天,电子商务凭借其不受地域和时间限制、运行成本低、效率高、交易快捷方便等特点,越来越受到企业和个人的青睐。电子商务企业要想在日渐激烈的竞争中获得更多的利益,必须分析顾客的价值需求,通过及时响应顾客需求,影响顾客购买行为,维系与顾客的关系,进而培养顾客忠诚。本文旨在电子商务的环境下,研究顾客感知价值对购买意向及企业未来销售的影响。首先,通过文献研究提出研究假设;其次,利用带有"时间窗"的固定样本数据采集技术以及三阶段最小二乘法对调查数据进行收集和分析;再次,进行假设检验;最后,研究结果发现感知价值的几个维度即社会价值、功能价值、情感价值和程序价值均对购买意向产生正向的影响,并且,购买意向对企业未来的销售有积极的正向的影响,同时过去的销售额对未来的销售额有很好的预测作用。     

Land Sales and Rental Markets in Transition: Evidence from Rural Vietnam*

Impact and desirability of land transfers in post‐socialist‐transition economies have been subject of considerable debate. We use data from Vietnam to identify factors conducive to the development of land markets and to assess potentially differential impacts of rental and sales. Results show that both rental and sales transfer land to more productive producers but that rental is more important for the poor to access land that becomes available as the non‐farm economy develops. The fact that secure land rights significantly increase supply of land to the rental market suggests that government has a key role in facilitating emergence and functioning of efficiency‐enhancing land markets.