How do small firms possibly survive? A comparison study of marketing skills and logistics infrastructure of small and large wholesalers

Most wholesalers are small family-owned firms that frequently lack marketing skills and an infrastructure capable of setting into practice state-of-the-art marketing distribution systems. They are much more consumed with daily activities and credit and collection functions than they are with developing marketing skills and logistics networks. The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify the elements of marketing skills and logistics that are associated with the performance of small and large wholesalers, and to compare and contrast these variables. Data were collected from 4500 small and large wholesalers in Hyogo and Osaka prefectures in Japan. Multiple regression analysis of this study found that the factors of supplier's financial assistance and buyer's services to wholesalers explained the performance of small wholesalers, and the factors of supplier's service to wholesalers and buyer's service to wholesalers explained the performance of large wholesalers. Multivariate analysis of variance and multiple discriminant analysis revealed that large and small wholesalers differed with respect to supplier's services to wholesalers, the supplier's financial assistance, and the wholesaler's intra logistics activities. Implications are discussed.     

Shareholders versus stakeholders: corporate mission statements and investor returns

This paper seeks to discover whether companies that adopt a stakeholder approach, and thereby demonstrate a wider remit of corporate responsibility, provide inferior returns to those that embrace the shareholder value approach. To classify approaches, mission statements were analysed, the final sample comprising 32 shareholder oriented companies and 48 stakeholder oriented companies. To assess performance both accounting–based and market–based measures were used. A number of moderating variables were taken into account: systematic (beta) risk, gearing (long–term debt to total long–term finance), tax ratios, and firm size. ANOVA and Kruskall–Wallis tests revealed that mission orientation did not affect performance, whether in terms of stock returns or excess returns. Neither were accounting returns on equity different overall, although shareholder oriented companies experienced wider variations in this measure. A number of multiple regressions were also performed. However, the mission dummy was not found to be a significant variable.     

The Malaysian Real Trade Balance and the Real Exchange Rate

The cointegration technique is used to examine the long‐run and short‐run relationships between the real Malaysian trade balance with the real exchange rate, domestic and world incomes. The results suggest that a real ringgit exchange rate depreciation improves the trade balance in the long run. World and domestic incomes are also found to be important determinants of trade balance. The significance of world income on trade balance indicates that Malaysia is prone to external shocks. An error‐correction model is then estimated to study the short‐run dynamics of the effects of exchange rate. The impulse response analysis shows that the effect of exchange rate on the trade balance lasts for about three years. A devaluation of ringgit will initially improve the trade balance, albeit small, after which the trade balance starts to deteriorate, and then improves again suggesting that there exists a delayed J‐curve.     

Structural Change in Pakistan's Interindustry Relationships

This paper examines and discusses the structural change in Pakistan's interindustrial relationships by comparing the direction of change in the input–output coefficients of the direct input requirements matrix, the total requirements matrix and the business multipliers over the periods 1975–76 and 1984–85.     

SLUM DWELLERS' HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION PATTERN AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR COST RECOVERY IN SLUM UPGRADING: Evidence from Dhaka, Bangladesh

Strong emphasis has recently been placed on recovery of improvement costs from slum dwellers for sustainable development of low-income urban settlements. Furthermore, socio-economic stratification of slum dwellers is perceived to influence their consumption and investment patterns in the city. Against this background, populations in six slums in Dhaka, stratified into house owners and renters, were studied. Results show that renters have stronger ties with their rural origin where they are likely to return and remit a significant portion of their income, leaving a limited amount for consumption and investment in the city. In contrast, owners have stronger attachment to the city, remit negligible amounts to their village of origin and pay more attention to city consumption and investment. Consequently, any cost recovery approach to slum upgrading implies heavy reliance on owners. But renters can also be expected to share the cost, to some limited extent, in the form of property tax or community services charges. The key point here is the concurrence of renters and owners on the sharing of costs and benefits.     

Consumer credit and monetary policy in Malaysia

What is the impact of monetary policy on the Malaysian consumer? The study addresses this issue by empirically investigating the consequences of interest rate shocks on consumer credit in Malaysia. The study relies on the impulse response functions and the variance decomposition analysis based on the structural Vector Auto‐regression methodology. Apart from analysing the responses of aggregate consumer loans (ACL) to interest rate changes, further disaggregation is made in efforts to arrive at more detailed findings. In particular, the ACL data are categorized into loans for purchase of residential property, loans for personal uses, loans for credit cards, loans for purchase of consumer durables, loans for purchase of passenger cars and loans for purchase of securities. Through this disaggregation, the study shows the relative sensitivity of the various types of consumer loans to interest rate shocks.     

A sustainable state for urban life in poor societies: Bangladesh

Cities in the Third World do not currently have favourable prospects for the future. Their planning is dedicated primarily to coping with pressures of population and infrastructure needs. Any pale imitation of advanced urbanization that they might employ as minimum standards require many times more consumption of energy, water and human time than is available. The concept of a sustainable state for the long term seems unattainable to their policy makers. This exercise seeks a path to a desirable steady state for one of the world's poorest metropolises—Dhaka. This article shows that the essential knowledge, and some experience, already exist which make this transition to sustainability possible, and outlines the crucial features required. Promotion of family planning is assigned the highest priority during the transition, followed by education.