Uncertainty,Learning and Heterogeneity in International Environmental Agreements

This paper concerns the formation of International Environmental Agreements under uncertainty about environmental damage with different models of learning (complete learning, partial learning or no learning). The results of the existing literature are generally pessimistic: the possibility of either complete or partial learning generally reduces the level of global welfare that can be achieved from forming an IEA relative to no learning. That literature regards uncertainty as a parameter common to all countries, so that countries are identical ex ante as well as ex post. In this paper we extend the literature to the case where there is no correlation between damage costs across countries; each country is uncertain about a particular parameter (in our case the benefit-cost ratio) drawn from a common distribution but, ex post, each country’s realized parameter value is independently drawn. Consequently, while countries remain identical ex ante, they may be heterogeneous ex post. We show that this change reinforces the negative conclusions about the effects of partial learning on international environmental agreements, but, under certain conditions, moderates the negative conclusions about the effects of complete learning.     

Bridging the divides of online reporting

This paper looks at the possibilities of improving online reporting by closing the ‘digital divide’ through a ‘digitalised revolution’ and by narrowing the ‘accounting divide’ through the sharing of power and the expansion of membership in the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Paradoxically, whilst the IASB may have contributed to the ‘accounting divide’ it may very well possess the potential to close it and thus improve online reporting. The potential to bridge the ‘accounting divide’ rests with the greater participation by developing country members to exert influence and ownership of the accounting standards setting process.     

Communicating Food-Safety Risks to Key Stakeholders

In recent years, the public has become increasingly concerned about the safety of the food they eat. Anxieties are augmented each time there is a food crisis, with each new disease and resultant food safety concern adding to the perception that our food is no longer safe. Bridging the gap between the scientist/veterinarian, economist, farmer and consumer requires effective communication strategies. This article uses the example of paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) in cattle to illustrate the difficulties of communicating food-safety risks when considerable uncertainty exists. Scientific data linking this disease to Crohn's disease in humans is contradictory and far from conclusive. We show how the Codex Alimentarius system can be used as a template for communicating risk in such situations. This is a four-stage process that addresses public perceptions of the risk and the public's related information requirements. One aim is to give peoples' concerns as much emphasis as the risk statistics in an open and honest debate. The example highlights the difficulty of deciding when and how best to instigate the process. However, positive collaboration between epidemiologists, public health specialists, economists, food marketers and policy-makers to work in conjunction with consumers of both food and animal health products and services is essential for a satisfactory outcome.     

Six Sigma – at your service

Lean Six Sigma is the bedrock of quality initiatives in manufacturing companies. Can this approach be used in service companies? It already is, and Peter Guarraia, Gib Carey, Alistair Corbett and Klaus Neuhaus show how techniques long used by Motorola and Toyota can be used in your company.     

Enabling, enacting and maintaining action at a distance: An historical case study of the role of accounts in the reduction of the Navajo herds

The role of accounting in enabling action at a distance has received considerable attention in the accounting literature. In this paper we examine the role of accounts in the actions taken by government officials in Washington, DC to reduce the size of the Navajo livestock holdings on their reservation in the southwestern United States in the 1930s. We examine the role of accounts in three acts: first in enabling action at a distance, second in enacting action in the local setting and finally, in shoring up, or maintaining action when things go wrong. We argue that in order to understand the role of accounts in these three acts, it is necessary to examine the conditions of possibility within which they emerge, the network of agents who adopt and give them life and the way in which they become entwined with various and shifting strategies. We also examine how action taken in Washington, DC had profound consequences for the Navajo when attempts were made to enact actions taken at a distance on the reservation.     

A magazine taxonomy based on customer overlap

The magazine industry is experiencing rapid proliferation of titles. This creates a challenge for magazine managers who must identify their competition and media planners and advertisers who must identify the appropriate magazines in which to place advertisements. This study introduces a metric based on core customer characteristics that serves as a similarity measure for deriving market structure. The metric has the practical advantage of being formed from syndicated readership data. A taxonomy of 81 magazines is developed that shows patterns of competition within as well as between submarkets. The strengths and weaknesses of this metric and the validity of the taxonomy are discussed. His research interests are in the marketing strategy and public policy areas. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Marketing Letters, andJournal of Direct Marketing.     

The English Tourist Network Automation project: a case study in interorganizational system failure

What are the barriers to the success of inter-organizational information systems? This question is considered through an examination of the English Tourist Network Automation (ETNA) project, launched in 1990 with the declared aim of implementation within the majority of tourist information centres within two years. The project was abandoned in 1993 with systems installed in 17% of the target population. Tourist information centres are provided by an inter-organizational network involving national, regional and local bodies. The impact that the complexities of this network had on the failure of the system are explored through an analysis of published documents. The importance of an organizational perspective with a clear view of the role of organizational politics to supplement technical considerations is stressed.     

Strategic Innovation with Complete and Incomplete Labour Market Contracts

In a model of strategic R&D competition between two firms that negotiate with independent unions we show that: (i) incomplete labour market contracts may Pareto-dominate complete labour market contracts (ii) even when complete contracts Pareto-dominate incomplete contracts, economies can get stuck in the incomplete contract equilibrium. These conclusions provide additional strategic reasons why complete labour market contracts may not be used—even if they were feasible. We propose two testable predictions to discriminate between complete and incomplete contracts: (i) the variance of wages is lower with complete contracts; (ii) the variance of employment is higher under complete contracts.