Barriers to the “key supplierization” of the firm

The phenomenon of key supply management (KSM) in business companies is far less investigated than the phenomenon of key account management (KAM) which beneficiates, both in practice and in an academic context, from a growing interest. This article is based on the empirical analysis of a sample of 10 international companies which have recently launched KSM programmes or are currently working on launching such programs. It examines the difficulties these companies come up against when implementing such programmes and proposes to organize these difficulties around three dimensions: 1) the difficulties in implementing real supplier portfolio approaches; 2) the narrow view of value co-creation with suppliers, and 3) the persistent lack of integration of the purchasing function with other internal functions within the company. The conclusion of the article is that KSM is far from being a mere symmetric phenomenon of KAM. Several implications are then discussed in relation to the implementation of KSM programmes within companies.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leegin</Emphasis> and the Economics of Resale Price Maintenance

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its century-old precedent that treated resale price maintenance (RPM) as a per se violation of the antitrust laws, it signaled approval for the vertical restraint’s widespread use. But the increased use of RPM occurred under a pre-existing rule that permitted RPM as long as no formal agreement over price was reached. This paper documents not only the increased use of RPM post Leegin but also the importance of avoiding the appearance of agreements to control resale prices. The paper then discusses how plaintiffs, previously enamored of claims of RPM, are now recasting vertical RPM arrangements as ancillary to horizontal agreements among distributors that are made effective though enforcement by producers.     

“石油美元”的历史透视与前景展望

伴随着国际政治经济与国际石油市场的变化发展,“石油美元”经历了从诞生、兴起到市场化和金融化,再到快速发展的历程.目前,由于油价的持续低迷,“石油美元”也呈现低迷的发展势头.未来国际石油市场和石油地缘政治的变化发展仍然是决定“石油美元”走向的主要因素.与此同时,“去全球化”、气候变化与环境安全、新能源的发展等非传统因素也逐渐成为影响“石油美元”未来发展的不可忽视的因素.但是,无论今后“石油美元”是依旧保持坚挺还是走向瓦解,美元的本质不会改变.同时,能源依然是美元实现利益的最好抓手.     

The Credibility–Cooperation Connection at the R&D-Marketing Interface

Research and development (R&D) managers' perceptions of both marketing information and marketing managers are analyzed using an information and source credibility framework. The findings are based on a study of R&D directors in 80 technology-intensive companies and focus on activities and interactions during the new product development process. The authors found that the R&D managers' perceptions differed significantly in high and low integration companies. These perceptions also were influenced by various organizational practices. The R&D-marketing cooperation was highest where organizational practices were conducive to cooperation and R&D perceived marketing input as credible. Several implications for creating a corporate climate conducive to interfunctional cooperation are developed.     

‘Mental mobility’ in the digital age: entrepreneurs and the online home‐based business

Home‐based online business ventures are an increasingly pervasive yet under‐researched phenomenon. The experiences and mindset of entrepreneurs setting up and running such enterprises require better understanding. Using data from a qualitative study of 23 online home‐based business entrepreneurs, we propose the augmented concept of ‘mental mobility’ to encapsulate how they approach their business activities. Drawing on Howard P. Becker's early theorising of mobility, together with Victor Turner's later notion of liminality, we conceptualise mental mobility as the process through which individuals navigate the liminal spaces between the physical and digital spheres of work and the overlapping home/workplace, enabling them to manipulate and partially reconcile the spatial, temporal and emotional tensions that are present in such work environments. Our research also holds important applications for alternative employment contexts and broader social orderings because of the increasingly pervasive and disruptive influence of technology on experiences of remunerated work.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">GTE Sylvania</Emphasis> and Interbrand Competition as the Primary Concern of Antitrust Law

Footnote 19 of the landmark U.S. antitrust decision in Continental T.V. v. GTE Sylvania, Inc. 433 U.S. 36 (1977) declares that “Interbrand competition … is the primary concern of antitrust law.” We trace the antecedents and influence of this declaration, argue that it is inappropriate, and conclude that it should be abandoned.     

Is the ‘Linkage Principle’ Valid? Evidence from the Field

We present field evidence concerning experienced bidders that supports the linkage principle—specifically, the prediction that in affiliated‐values auction environments the expected revenues generated at open‐outcry, ascending‐bid auctions are higher than those under auction formats that reveal less information to participants. Using field data from a large seller of automobiles who experimented with different selling formats, we have found that average revenues were significantly higher under an English auction than under a dynamic Internet auction format that revealed less information to bidders.     

Productivity & the R&D/Production interface in Japan

The effect of national culture, found to be strong in the FRG/UK study, is even stronger in Japan. Apparent anomalies in the quantitative findings are resolved by taking it into account. The slopes of the regression lines of R&D resources against company productivity suggest that expenditure on R&D in the UK is well below optimum while that in Japan is rather above it and permit speculation as to what the optimum is for the industry.     

Vertical Restraints,the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sylvania</Emphasis> Case,and China’s Antitrust Enforcement

We briefly review the relevant economic theories and legal treatment of vertical restraints, and especially focus on the 1977 landmark case of Sylvania and its possible influence on China’s antitrust enforcement on vertical restraints. China’s competition policy, and particularly its antimonopoly law, does not explicitly instruct with respect to the enforcement approach (per se versus rule of reason) toward vertical restraints. But from an overview of China’s recent antitrust cases, we find that there is a division in the approaches taken by public versus private enforcement: Even though the administrative enforcement is more inclined to the application of per se prohibitions (or the application of the EU-style prohibition-plus-exemption approach), it seems that a rule of reason is the (increasingly) prevailing approach that is taken by the courts.     

开发建设项目水土保持工程《概算定额》及《概算编制规定》编制浅析

目前开发建设项目水土保持工程还没有专门的定额，为适应开发建设项目水土保持工程投资管理前期工作的需要，合理确定水土保持工程投资，统一概（估）算编制方法和标准，受水利部委托由水利部水规总院与水利部天津勘测设计院共同编制完成了《开发建设项目水土保持工程设计概算定额》及《开发建设项目水土保持工程设计概算编制规定》。介绍了编制经过，阐述了编制的原则和依据，简要叙述了两个标准各章的内容。最后对两标准报批稿进行了评价。     

务实高效合规开展“三重一大”决策相关问题研究

针对当前为了合规决策而大幅增加会议的突出问题,分析了“三重一大”的内涵、实施背景和初衷,以及造成会议多、决策效率低的根本原因,提出了违规决策的三类风险及其判断标准.建议回归“三重一大”决策的初衷,通过职业判断与担当精神,以“决策事项是否存在决策风险”以及“谁决策、谁履行程序”的原则,作为上会决策必要性的标准,推动务实、高效、合规决策,实现决策合规与决策效率的有机统一.     

Productivity Dynamics and the Role of ‘Big‐Box’ Entrants in Retailing

We use a dynamic model to measure the impact of the entry of large stores on incumbents’ productivity separate from demand while accounting for local markets and the endogeneity of entry. Using data on all retail food stores in Sweden, we find that incumbents’ productivity increases after the entry of large stores and that the magnitude of the increase declines toward the upper part of the productivity distribution. Our findings highlight that large entrants drive productivity.