MUTUAL FUND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION – APPLICATION OF SYSTEM BCC MODEL

For the first time, this research adopts the system BCC model in data envelopment analysis in order to evaluate mutual fund performance and compares the results between the BCC model and the system BCC model. This study is based on the sample of stock funds and balanced funds in Taiwan, with the empirical results summarised as follows. (i) Under the system BCC model, the average score of balanced funds is greater than the average score of stock funds. (ii) There is a significant difference in efficiency scores between the BCC model and the system BCC model, and it is proper to adopt the system BCC model. (iii) The number of major reference sets that have been referenced under the BCC model is larger than under the system BCC model. (iv) If we neglect the distinctions between stock funds and balanced funds, there will be errors on performance assessment. Ultimately, the results reveal that there is a significant difference between the two models. Provided no consideration is made for the funds belonging to two different systems, errors in performance evaluation are inevitable. This research provides investors with both a more accurate and comprehensive evaluation method.     

Allocation model for theme park advertising budget

This paper treats advertising budgeting, which is a challenging issue for academicians and practitioners. A problem-solving tool, namely Project Advancement (PA), is employed to identify the characteristics of the budget allocation issue the advertising manager faces with. In line with the characteristics (i.e., fundamental objective (FO), the length of value-based time limit of advertising campaigns, and advancement strategy of advertising campaigns), an efficient allocation model for achieving the FO is then constructed. A case of theme park advertising budgeting throughout this paper provides insights into this approach and yields illustrations to the allocation model. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is employed for estimate of objective coefficients of the allocation model. Managerial implications are identified with regard to using the new approach.     

Firm Resources and Corporate Venturing Investment

Corporate venturing (CV) in which established firms invest in new entrepreneurial businesses involves identifying opportunities and creating new combinations of resources to seize opportunities. Moving beyond literature that has focused predominantly on the consequences of CV, we adopt a resource‐based view to examine how knowledge‐based and organizational‐slack resources relate to the level of firm CV. The implications of the findings for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Students’ knowledge sources and knowledge sharing in the design studio—an exploratory study

Architectural design is a knowledge-intensive activity; however, students frequently lack sufficient knowledge when they practice design. Collaborative learning can supplement the students’ insufficient expertise. Successful collaborative learning relies on knowledge sharing between students. This implies that the peers are a considerable design knowledge source for the students. However, students are involved in grade competition. Students may not be willing to share because knowledge is a critical resource for students’ performance. The web technology has been used to facilitate knowledge exchange among students; nevertheless, the convenience of technology may tempt free riding behavior and impede the development of a knowledge sharing culture. The purpose of this exploratory study is to probe whether the peers and a web forum are the students’ primary knowledge source by investigating students’ knowledge sources during the design process. The results demonstrated that (1) studio-mates were a primary design knowledge source for the students, (2) the ill-defined nature of design problems may be the main contributing factor encouraging knowledge sharing behavior, (3) the shared web forum was not a primary knowledge source for the students and did not have a significant influence on the knowledge sharing culture, and (4) we can estimate the knowledge sharing culture in a design studio through investigating students’ knowledge sources. Furthermore, several additional findings and implications are elaborated.     

Understanding relationship quality and online purchase intention in e-tourism: A qualitative application

This study explores the formation of relationship quality and online purchase intention in the service context of tourism, and a model is also introduced. This study tries to conceptualize a model based on a mediating mechanism of relationship quality that may be applied to understand online purchase intention in tourism. Learning the critical role of relationship quality in e-tourism can guide tour service providers to design different strategies for different online customers, and consequently achieve high customer online purchase to tourist service and product. In the proposed model of this study, the perceived incentive, perceived service quality, perceived ease of purchasing and perceived usefulness influence customer online purchase intention indirectly via the mediation of relationship quality. Additionally, five propositions are derived accordingly based on the proposed model and literature review. Finally, discussion, limitation and future research are also provided.     

Politics, Structure of Protection, and Welfare

Three issues in the political economy of protection are examined. The first, the endogenization of interest group formation, is addressed from the perspective of profitability instead of the difficulty caused by the free-rider problem. The second issue is the determinants of an interest group's political influence. Two sets of determinants—the characteristics of the interest group and the political economic environment faced by that group—are identified. The third is the circumstances under which the presence of more interest groups is socially preferable to fewer. Such circumstances are related to the parameters of the model.     

Managing equal opportunities for women: sorting the friends from the foes

Employees working in Hong Kong were surveyed on their attitudes towards managing equal opportunities for women. Results indicate that gender is a better predictor of attitudes than work identity. Manager/employee work identity has an add‐on moderating effect on some women‐friendly policies but not on others. Out of seven women‐friendly dimensions, women as managers are less receptive of only two: 'training and development' and 'positive equal opportunities'; men as managers, in contrast, are less resistant to 'training and development' and 'flexitime'. The findings suggest that there are three levels of gatekeeping: one, male employees; two, male managers; and three, female managers. We suggest that to help women employees break the glass ceiling, different organisational and societal change programmes are needed to target the different groups of gatekeepers.     

Public–private partnerships: Task interdependence and contractibility

We examine the proper scope of public–private partnerships in the context of a project consisting of two tasks, building and operation of a facility. We investigate the optimal arrangement regarding bundling versus unbundling and private ownership versus public ownership. Like Bennett and Iossa (2006), we assume that the innovative activity in the building stage has impacts on, among other things, the subsequent operational cost. We relax the nature of task interdependence and study different contractual frameworks. The general insight is that given limitations in contractibility, contrary to common sense, complementarity between tasks favors unbundling over bundling.     

The Effects of Relative Income and Absolute Income on Happiness

The authors consider the absolute income effect and several relative income effects on happiness. The latter include both a longitudinal comparison, which consists of both upward and downward comparisons, and a parallel comparison with individuals of similar traits. It is found that the longitudinal comparison and parallel comparison exist simultaneously, although the downward comparison is insignificant. However, the symmetry of the upward comparison, downward comparison, and parallel comparison cannot be rejected. Because the absolute income effect and the relative income effects countervail, the effect of income growth on subjective well-being is likely to be negligible.