An Investigation of Justice in supply chain relationships and their performance impact

Justice is important in improving performance of supply chain relationships. However, the role of justice in improving performance in supply chain relationships is an under-investigated subject in the literature. In studying the joint impact of justice dimensions, the traditional assumption is that the three forms of justice interact with each other in a multiplicative manner. However, this assumption creates a managerial problem as discussed in this paper. We outline a different view of how the justice dimensions interact with one another utilizing the constraining factor model (CFM). We show that the CFM resolves some of the problems arising from the choice of multiplicative interaction of justice measures on performance. Specifically, we demonstrate that an increase in procedural, distributive or interactional justice results in a significant and positive improvement in performance only if the specific justice dimension is the constraining factor in the relationship. Overall, our analysis suggests that all three dimensions are important and a high level of one of the justice elements will not compensate for a low level of another, a view that is put forward by a number of past research studies in justice. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our findings.     

THE ART OF STRATEGIC DIVESTMENT

Divestiture makes sense only as part of a sound, long-term strategy. Before simply shedding business units, companies must consider all the options, and be willing to constantly review, replenish, and trim portfolios as markets change and evolve. In so doing, a company increases not only its flexibility but also its chances of adding shareholder value.
This article examines the corporate restructuring "big picture," in which divestments are only one alternative. It reviews additional measures besides divestments, such as outsourcing, joint ventures, asset swaps, and using new technologies to cut costs, and provides case studies of each. It also raises some interesting issues regarding divestiture, such as ways to sell a business unit without strengthening a competitor's hand, as well as strategies for improving a business unit's valuation in preparation for sale. The authors, who are M&A advisors at Accenture, conclude that "a carefully planned and well-executed restructuring that involves divestiture can be as significant a victory for management and shareholders as a successful acquisition."     

Welfare Economics,Political Economy and Policy Reform in Ghana*

Abstract: Economic policy reform touches upon two aspects of the subject of economics - welfare economics and political economy. The former develops the logic of how the gains of the gainers and the losses of the losers should be weighed against each other, in the context of particular ethical frameworks; the latter analyses how the gains of the gainers and the losses of the losers will be weighed against each other, in the context of the institutions of a particular socio-political system. This essay has considered the sub-disciplines of Welfare Economics and Political Economy as two frameworks for evaluating policy reform and applied them to the case of Ghana. It is argued that the agenda for policy makers in Ghana is to work towards organizing and mobilizing the gainers from reforms which advance social welfare, so that resistance to such reforms from the losers can be overcome. The first decade of reform in Ghana presents the results of such alignment. The second decade of reform now awaits. Résumé: La réforme structurelle de l'économie participe de deux aspects de la doctrine économique: l'économie de bien-être et l'économie politique. La première situe dans un cadre logique les modalités par lesquelles les pertes des perdants et les gains des gagnants devraient être mis en balance, dans le contexte d'un système éthique particulier; la seconde analyse les modalités par lesquelles les gains des gagnants et les pertes des perdants seront mis en balance, dans le contexte des institutions d'un système socio-politique donné. Le présent essai utilise les deux sous-disciplines -économie de bien-être et économie politique-comme cadres d'analyse pour l'évaluation des réformes structurelles, en les appliquant au cas du Ghana. L'auteur soutient que pour les décideurs du Ghana, le mot d'ordre consiste à organiser et mobiliser les bénéficiaires des réformes concourant à la promotion du bien-être social, afin de pouvoir vaincre la résistance que les perdants opposent à ces réformes. La première décennie des réformes au Ghana fait apparaître les résultats de cet alignement. La deuxième décennie est ouverte.     

Specific factors,unemployment and trade theory

Conclusions In this paper we have argued that the specific-factor model of trade is more suitable to the analysis of trade problems in the presence of unemployment than the traditional Heckscher-Ohlin, non-specific factor model used by Brecher and others. Among other things we have shown that protection granted to a land-using industry is unlikely to reduce unemployment, benefiting landlords at the expense of capitalists, while protection conferred to a non-land-using industry is likely to stimulate employment.

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Zusammenfassung Spezifische Faktoren, Arbeitslosigkeit und Theorie des internationalen Handels. - In diesem Aufsatz wird ein Zwei-Sektoren-Modell bei allgemeiner Arbeitslosigkeit konstruiert und in das Hauptgeb?ude der Au\enhandelstheorie integriert. Ein Vorzug des Modells ist, da\ es den Produktionsfaktor Boden nicht ignoriert, den die moderne Au\enhandelstheorie als praktisch nicht existent behandelt. Unter anderem zeigt das Modell, da\ eine Protektion von Industrien, die Land und Boden nutzen, der Protektion anderer Industrien unterlegen ist und da\ deshalb der Schutz bodennutzender Industrien vor ausl?ndischer Konkurrenz wahrscheinlich die Arbeitslosigkeit vergr?\ert.

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Résumé Facteurs spécifiques, ch?mage et théorie de commerce extérieur. - Dans cet article les auteurs construisent un modèle à deux secteurs en présence du ch?mage général et ils l’intègrent avec le cadre principal de la théorie du commerce international. Une qualité de ce modèle est qu’il n’ignore pas le facteur de production ?terre? qui est traité par la théorie moderne du commerce extérieur comme presque non-existant. Entre autres choses, le modèle démontre que la protection en faveur des industries qui utilisent le facteur terre est inférieure à la protection en faveur des autres industries, et c’est pourquoi la protection des industries qui utilisent le facteur terre probablement mène à un accroissement du ch?mage.

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Resumen Factores específicos, desempleo y teoría del comercio. - En este trabajo se construye un modelo bisectorial en presencia de desempleo generalizado compatible con el cuerpo central de la teoría del comercio internacional. Una virtud de este modelo es que no ignora el factor ?tierra?, que es tratado como si no existiera por la teoría moderna del comercio. Entre otras cosas, este modelo muestra que la protección dada a sectores industriales que insumen tierra es inferior a la dada a otras industrias y que por lo tanto la protección de industrias que insumen tierra trente a la competencia extranjera podrfa contribuír a aumentar el desempleo.

     

Resource Configuration in Family Firms: Linking Resources, Strategic Planning and Technological Opportunities to Performance

abstract    We apply the resource-based view of the firm to the study of family firms by investigating how a family specific resource (reciprocal altruism) and a firm specific resource (innovative capacity) contribute to family firm performance. We then examine how the impact of these resources is moderated by strategic planning and technological opportunities. Our findings suggest that family firms can benefit from emphasizing the positive aspects of kinship and from developing innovative capacities. As such, we demonstrate that not only do firm specific resources contribute to family firm performance, but also that family relationships can be a source of competitive advantage for a family firm. In addition, we found a heightened importance of reciprocal altruism in environments rich in technological opportunities, and that strategic planning is more important for those family firms that lack innovative capacities.     

I know something you don't know!: The role of linking pin directors in monitoring and incentive alignment

Increasing regulatory pressures have created specialization within boards, with more requirements and responsibilities being refocused to the committee level. Using data from S&P 1,500 firms, we find that board committee overlap associated with linking pin directors (i.e., those serving simultaneously on the audit and compensation committees) is an important conduit for knowledge transfer between boards' monitoring and incentive alignment functions. These directors are associated with lower executive compensation and influence pay mix. In studying the dynamics behind this process, we find that newly created linking pins improve monitoring effectiveness whereas recently dissolved linking pins decrease it. We also find that linking pins are all the more important when managers make less conservative accounting choices. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Increasing Cognitive Response Sensitivity

Abstract

Traditional cognitive response elicitation procedures may not be sensitive enough to elicit the stylized and subtle thoughts that are generated during exposure to certain types of ads. When these types of thoughts are the focus of an advertising researcher's work, it is critical that he or she develop a procedure that has the sensitivity to draw them forth without being reactive. A laboratory study examines two different procedures to do this: pre-exposure exercises and directed post-exposure instructions. The results suggest that each procedure raises measurement sensitivity, but that there is no advantage in combining them. General guidelines are then presented for developing stylized cognitive response elicitation procedures.     

Determinants of a lasting purchase: The case of the tattoo patron

Evidence suggests that both cognitive and emotive factors elucidate consumer decision processes; yet, research exploring such factors jointly (i.e., a dual-process approach) as antecedents of high-involvement, lasting purchases is lacking. To address this paucity, we developed two studies, each with a unique dual-process model for explaining consumers’ intention to get a tattoo. Study 1 explores anticipated regret about getting a tattoo, emotional response before and now regarding a tattoo purchase, and self-expression via tattoo acquisition. Study 2 examines perceived trust in the tattoo artist, self-esteem, attitude toward art paintings, and age as determinants of intention to get a tattoo. Data collected for testing these models support dual-process theory in the tattoo context. Implications and future research directions are offered.