A Virtue-Ethics Analysis of Supply Chain Collaboration

Technological advancements in information systems over the past few decades have enabled firms to work with the major suppliers and customers in their supply chain in order to improve the performance of the entire channel. Tremendous benefits for all parties can be realized by sharing information and coordinating operations to reduce inventory requirements, improve quality, and increase customer satisfaction; but the companies must collaborate effectively to bring these gains to fruition. We consider two alternative methods of managing these interfirm supply chain relationships in this article. The first, which we have named “dictatorial collaboration,” occurs when a dominant supply chain entity assumes control of the channel and forces the other firms to follow its edicts. We compare and contrast this method with “sustainable collaboration,” in which the parties share resources and engage in joint problem solving to improve the performance of the system as a whole. We use a virtue ethics lens to describe these methods of relationship management to suggest that sustainable collaboration is preferable to dictatorial collaboration both operationally and ethically in the long run.     

Going “purple”: Can military jointness principles provide a key to more successful integration at the marketing-manufacturing interface?

When the colors of all the U.S. armed services’ uniforms are combined, the color purple appears; therefore, military insiders refer to inter-service operations as “purple” operations. Now a core concept, the “jointness” of U.S. military strategic response to a critical operational failure encapsulates principles and processes through which two or more armed services are best able to integrate strategies, strengths, and capabilities in ways that yield genuine synergies, despite the differences in mission and culture that naturally separate the services. The now ingrained ability of military services to “go purple” quickly has materially contributed to strategic and operational successes during the last 20 years. The internal circumstances as well as global environmental challenges faced by domestic firms, particularly at the marketing-manufacturing (M-M) interface, resonate with those faced by the U.S. military. Firms may benefit from evaluating the prospect of “going purple” at this crucial point of interface. This article integrates military-like jointness principles into an organizational framework that functions as a guide to pursuing cross-functional M-M integration more successfully. The framework also provides a methodology through which managers can determine whether and how much purple ought to be pursued.     

Immigration policy in South Africa: does it make economic sense?

Current levels of international labour migration are exceptional. Several thousand skilled South Africans leave the country each year. Historically, the country attracted more skilled workers than it lost, from Europe and, more recently, other African countries. But emigration is increasing and immigration is restricted by policy and a range of socio-economic factors. The trends in the ‘brain drain’ from South Africa and its causes and severity are relatively well understood and will be reviewed in this paper. However, the policy response has been slow and confused. The paper highlights some of the economic determinants and effects of South African emigration and immigration and reviews recent changes to South African migration legislation. It asks how South Africa can attract the right kind of skilled immigrants and what more can be done to stem the loss of professionals from the country.     

The Evolution and Development of the Swedish Insurance Market

In this paper we provide an overview of the historical development of the insurance market in Sweden from the eighteenth century up to modern times. We consider theoretical perspectives drawn from the economics and political regulation literature that might help to explain important institutional features of the market - in particular, its oligopoly structure, the lack of foreign participation and the significant presence of mutual forms of organisation. We also offer a prognosis as to the current challenges and prospects of the Swedish insurance market in an increasingly competitive and global market.     

The Effect of Initial Endowments in Experimental Auctions

We report the results of an experiment designed to test whether initial endowments affect value estimates elicited from experimental auctions. Comparing bids for one unit of a good, two units of a good, and a second unit of a good when endowed with the first unit, we find that willingness to pay for the second unit of a good is, on average, as much as 75% higher when endowed with the first unit. We go on to advance two theories that could potentially reconcile our results with neoclassical consumer theory.     

The Determinants of Financial Derivatives Use in the United Kingdom Life Insurance Industry

This paper examines the determinants of financial derivatives use in the United Kingdom life insurance industry. We estimate a probit regression model and a Heckman two-stage sample selection regression model using a sample of eighty-eight U.K. life insurers in 1995. Our results indicate that the propensity to use derivative instruments is positively related to a firm's size, leverage and international links, and negatively related to the extent of reinsurance. We also find that mutual life insurance firms have a greater propensity than stock firms to use derivatives. The positive relation with leverage and the negative relation with reinsurance support the hypothesis that U.K. life insurers use derivatives to offset risk, rather than as a speculative means of income generation. Firm size and organizational form are the main influences on the extent of financial derivatives use.