Declining sectors and strategies within the area of human resources: a case study from Spain

Based upon the existing theoretical framework, empirical research on successful generic strategies has resulted in various recommendations for strategic management in declining sectors. However, these studies do not consider (aspects of) strategy implementation, and thus ignore the importance of aspects of the implementation for the ultimate success of the proposed strategy. Consequently, it is difficult to uncover some important factors that contribute to the success or failure of the proposed strategies. One such factor is the congruence between the generic 'decline strategy' and its concurrent social strategy. Although some theoretical proposals on this congruency exist, empirical studies on this topic are lacking.

Given the exploratory, 'real-life' and process nature of the study, the case-study method is used. This allows us to establish a dialectic relationship between the theoretical proposals available and the empirical observations. The company that is studied is a Spanish state-owned shipyard. Following a brief analysis of the sector and its specific characteristics of decline, the evolving congruence between the generic and social strategies within the company is analysed. Basically, the study focuses on the process of continuously adjusting and balancing the two types of strategies. Also, the resulting implementation issues and difficulties are assessed. Conclusions are based on the permanent comparison and confrontation of field data and theoretical insights.     

IFRS FOR SMEs: THE IASB'S DUE PROCESS

This study explores the role of the International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB) due process in developing its International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium‐sized Entities (IFRS or SMEs) standard. There were tensions between the IASB's desire to minimise divergence from full IFRS and preserve recognition and measurement principles, and the primary reasons for undertaking the project – to meet the needs of users of financial statements of SMEs and to reduce the financial reporting burden on SMEs. Examination of events during the development of the project reveals much that was not apparent from material in the public domain. Most significantly, the IASB recognised that the final title of the standard, IFRS for SMEs, does not necessarily describe the scope of the standard. This paper also shows that the due process followed in the case of the IFRS for SMEs project barely reflected the ‘will of people’ but was more inclined towards acting as a communicative function for the IASB without any commitment to change its stance on the SME standard.     

Long-run income and price elasticities of demand for Colombian nontraditional exports: a multivariate cointegration framework

A long run income and price elasticities of demand is estimated for Colombian nontraditional exports through a multivariate cointegration analysis. Based on the combination of cointegration and exogeneity concepts and the inclusion of the complete dynamic system, the paper shows the existence of a long-run relationship among nontraditional exports, relative price and foreign demand, and higher long-run elasticities than those provided by the long-run cointegration vector coefficients that are usually reported in the trade literature.     

Postponement strategy for international transfer of products in a global supply chain: A system dynamics examination

This paper contributes to research on “postponement” strategy in the context of a global production–distribution system of an automobile manufacturer. It proposes a model that integrates multiple considerations germane to global supply chains. Postponement is important in this context because it is necessary to consider international transfers and tariffs, and it is important to appropriately account for the impact of postponement on total costs. Consideration of several key variables such as shipping point, customs tariff, and cost differences between countries is essential to derive full benefits from postponement strategy in global supply chains. International transfer of goods among countries in global automobile industry is complex and dynamic because of the multitude of factors that must be considered. The paper develops insights regarding postponement strategy in global supply chains via a system dynamics simulation model. The model draws on the experiences of a Korean automobile manufacturer with operations in developing and developed countries.     

Aplicación de bicorrelación cruzada al rendimiento diario del precio del café

This paper uses the cross bicorrelation methodology, which can capture nonlinear trascendence periods through window functions and third-order moments. It applies to the return of four sets of commodities of coffee traded on the New York market (Arabica Colombian, mild Arabica, Arabica Brazilian and Other Arabicas), during the 20/06/1997 - 27/10/2010 period. The results conclude that there is a cross bicorrelation among the four series, with Brazilian type coffee being the leader and a lower bicorrelation with other Arabicas. This complicates decisions for investors in such series.     

Economic impacts of closing national forests for commercial timber production in Florida and Liberty County

The paper assesses the impacts of a proposed policy, which suggests a ban on commercial timber harvest in the US national forests. Specifically, this study examines the effect of this policy on a small forest dependent county (Liberty County) in Florida and Florida State by applying a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. The results indicate that the proposed policy would decrease overall economic output by $5 million in Liberty County. The decrease in economic output at the state level in response to this policy is only $1 million. Results suggest that the welfare index in response to the proposed policy will drop by 2.9% in Liberty County while the change at the state level is negligible. At the county level, where limited alternate opportunities for labor and capital mobility, the negative effect of the proposed policy is shown to have a multiplying effect.     

TROPICS AND INCOME: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE U.S. STATES

A simple regression of personal income per capita for the U.S. states is estimated from cross-section data for the years 1929, 1950, 1970 and 1990 with each state's distance from the equator as the regressor. While proximity to the equator is noted to have a sizable adverse effect on income, elasticity of personal income per capita with respect to "tropicality" shows a steady and somewhat dramatic decline during this 60-year period. The estimates indicate that the disadvantage of tropicality is not immutable, and need not imply a developmental determinism.     

From value chain to value constellation: designing interactive strategy

In today's fast-changing competitive environment, strategy is no longer a matter of positioning a fixed set of activities along that old industrial model, the value chain. Successful companies increasingly do not just add value, they reinvent it. The key strategic task is to reconfigure roles and relationships among a constellation of actors--suppliers, partners, customers--in order to mobilize the creation of value by new combinations of players. What is so different about this new logic of value? It breaks down the distinction between products and services and combines them into activity-based "offerings" from which customers can create value for themselves. But as potential offerings grow more complex, so do the relationships necessary to create them. As a result, a company's strategic task becomes the ongoing reconfiguration and integration of its competencies and customers. The authors provide three illustrations of these new rules of strategy. IKEA has blossomed into the world's largest retailer of home furnishings by redefining the relationships and organizational practices of the furniture business. Danish pharmacies and their national association have used the opportunity of health care reform to reconfigure their relationships with customers, doctors, hospitals, drug manufacturers, and with Danish and international health organizations to enlarge their role, competencies, and profits. French public-service concessionaires have mastered the art of conducting a creative dialogue between their customers--local governments in France and around the world--and a perpetually expanding set of infrastructure competencies.     

Are More Innovative Firms Less Vulnerable to New Environmental Regulation?

Compliance with pollution limits and standards requires firms to implement adaptation processes that are not only costly themselves but also affect future profits in as much as they modify production systems and methods. This paper attempts to respond to the question of how technological knowledge moderates the effect that the implementation of a new environmental regulation has on the results of affected firms. The regulation selected for this study is the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Act (IPPC). A Multivariate Regression Model (MVRM) has been applied to the regulatory event. The most important implication of this paper is that technological knowledge prepares a firm for adapting to a greater environmental demand such as may be derived from a new regulation. This paper has been developed under the objectives of the CREVALOR Research Group (DGA-Spain). Moreover, it has been financed by the MEC-FEDER Research Project SEJ2005-07341.     

Community–Industry Contracting over Natural Resource use in a Context of Weak Property Rights: The Case of Indonesia

Decentralization in Indonesia has resulted in an increased influence of local communities over the terms of logging agreements with timber companies. The outcomes of such community–company negotiations vary significantly across communities. What are the conditions that cause this variation, and how can the outcomes be more effectively and efficiently influenced by third-party actors such as the local government or NGOs? This paper addresses these questions by developing a game-theoretic model to illustrate the strategic interactions between communities and companies. The model allows for endogeneity of de facto property rights and bargaining positions. We show that third-party actions to improve the community’s bargaining position by raising its reservation utility may result in an increase in the area logged and thereby harm the environment. Our results indicate that the strategy of intervention matters. In particular, strategies that raise the sensitivity of interventions to local logging threats are likely to be more cost-effective in supporting communities and reducing forest degradation than more indiscriminatory strategies. The model will be relevant to other situations where communities negotiate contracts over natural resource use with outside actors in a context of weak property rights, a situation increasingly observed in other developing countries.