Product price and performance level in one market or two separated markets under various cost structures and functions

Market characteristics, including intrinsic demand and customer sensitivity on price and product performance level, are distinct at different markets. Comparisons of various product development strategies in one market or two geographically separated markets are conducted for three classes of products: development intensive products (DIPs) with constant unit cost, marginal cost-intensive products (MIPs) with constant fixed cost, and marginal and development intensive products (MDIPs) with non-constant unit cost and fixed cost. Results show that larger demand size, less customer sensitivity on price and/or more sensitivity on performance level lead to more profit, a higher sale price and a not-lower product performance. The customer reservation or the saturation performance level should be generally adopted though the optimal performance level does exist occasionally. Unit cost and/or fixed cost must increase in performance at an increasing rate for the existence of one optimal performance level. Due to the impact of demand size, one high-end (low-end) MDIP or DIP could be introduced into one low-end (high-end) market at a different price if the demand size is significantly large in the low-end market. For DIPs, offering one niche high-end product is not worse than offering the low-end product into two markets. For MIPs with negligible fixed cost, the product line strategy is not worse than the standard product development strategy. Additionally, the product cost reduction approach adopted in one product line has significant effects on the best product development strategy and sequence.     

A decision method for supplier selection in multi-service outsourcing

Although supplier selection in multi-service outsourcing is a very important decision problem, research concerning this issue is still relatively scarce. This paper proposes a decision method for selecting a pool of suppliers for the provision of different service process/product elements. It pioneers the use of collaborative utility between partner firms for supplier selection. A multi-objective model is built to select desired suppliers. This model is proved to be NP-hard, so we develop a multi-objective algorithm based on Tabu search for solving it. We then use an example to show the applicability of the proposed model and algorithm. Extensive computational experiments are also conducted to further test the performance of the proposed algorithm.     

A weighted max-min model for fuzzy multi-objective supplier selection in a supply chain

Supplier selection is one of the most important activities of purchasing departments. This importance is increased even more by new strategies in a supply chain. Supplier selection is a multi-criteria decision making problem in which criteria have different relative importance. In practice, for supplier selection problems, many input information are not known precisely. The fuzzy set theories can be employed due to the presence of vagueness and imprecision of information. A weighted max-min fuzzy model is developed to handle effectively the vagueness of input data and different weights of criteria in this problem. Due to this model, the achievement level of objective functions matches the relative importance of the objective functions. In this paper, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to determine the weights of criteria. The proposed model can help the decision maker (DM) to find out the appropriate order to each supplier, and allows the purchasing manager(s) to manage supply chain performance on cost, quality and service. The model is explained by an illustrative example.     

基于TOPSIS的航天工程项目合作伙伴选择方法

合作伙伴的科学选择是航天工程项目成功的关键。分析了我国航天工程项目合作伙伴管理的现状,构建了包含组织层、项目层和环境层的航天工程项目合作伙伴评价指标体系,通过信息熵和层次分析法进行组合赋权,建立了TOPSIS法评价模型。最后通过航天工程项目某航天器零部件的合作伙伴选择实例验证该评价体系具有较强的科学性和实用性。     

价值工程方法在工程项目设计方案比选中的应用

项目的价值工程方法是一种以实现项目利益相关各方最高满意度的创造性活动,在规划设计阶段,价值工程对项目价值有决定性的影响。因此,在项目前期,应积极应用价值工程的方法进行多方案的比选分析,以达到项目价值的最大化目的。     

我国台商投资大陆区位选择影响因素的实证研究

选取1991—2011年我国台商投资大陆地区各省(地区)相关变量的历史统计数据,采用面板数据分析方法,建立各时段面板数据模型,对我国台商投资大陆区位选择的影响因素进行实证分析。研究结果显示:影响我国台商投资大陆区位选择的因素主要有产业结构、政府政策、生产效率、基础设施、劳动力成本和开放水平等;其中,政府政策和开放水平是影响台商投资大陆区位选择的稳定且主要的因素;产业结构、基础设施和劳动力成本的影响次之,生产效率的影响并不显著;各因素对台商投资大陆区位选择的影响程度和方向不断变化,即产业结构的影响呈上升趋势,基础设施和劳动力成本的影响逐渐减弱。     

Making sustainable sourcing decisions: practical evidence from the automotive industry

Achieving environmental and sustainable performance within an organisation’s supply chain and manufacturing operations will be feasible if upstream supply partners have the same commitments in performing their operations in a sustainable manner. Given the debate above, we propose a comprehensive framework to address the sustainable supplier selection and order allocation (SSS&OA) problem. The framework developed is practical, that starts by using an audition check-list specific for each sustainability dimension (environmental, economic and social), from which the weighted values of its comprised criteria are obtained. The weighted scores of the selected sustainable suppliers are utilised by a proposed bi-objective order allocation model in order to make sourcing decisions. The strength of the proposed framework is its practical applicability to provide a solution for SSS&OA problems which is validated through a real-world application. Finally, research findings, theoretical and managerial insights and also directions for additional research are presented.     

浅谈价值工程在地下管线探测项目设计方案评价中的应用

价值工程作为一种将功能与成本、技术与经济相结合而进行技术经济评价的方法,又称为价值分析。本文通过结合地下管线探测项目的具体实例,探讨了在具体的施工过程中,为了在降低工程成本的同时能够有效的保证施工工程的质量和进度,如何采用价值工程的方法选择以及优化施工组织设计的方案。实践证明,在施工项目中应用价值工程的方法不仅能够完善施工方案,还能有效确保施工进度并且能够有效提高利润,最重要的是还能够很好的保证施工质量。     

Risk sentiment and firms’ liquidity in the French market

This paper investigates the impact of risk sentiment on market liquidity by using panel data. We use six risk word lists; uncertain, weak model, negative, legal, opportunity, and environmental & social responsibility word lists to measure the risk sentiment. Concerning the liquidity proxies, we use three measures, quoted spread, effective spread, and adverse selection component. The results indicate that an intensive risk tone and uncertain information in annual reports lead to decreased liquidity. In addition we find that risk sentiment variable impacts the liquidity but not vice versa.