You'll never walk alone: Why we need a supply chain practice view on digital procurement

This paper conceptualizes digital procurement readiness as a dyadic construct and introduces the supply chain practice view (SCPV) as a theoretical lens that can help guide future research on digital procurement. We build on a literature review and on dyadic, explanatory case studies to provide a nuanced understanding of how the digital readiness of supply chain partners—on both sides of the dyad—needs to co-evolve for the implementation of digital procurement practices. Specifically, we outline how the SCPV can serve as both a holistic and a supply chain-specific framework for future research on the following: 1) the antecedents that help explain why supply chain partners adopt inter-organizational digital procurement practices, and 2) the relational performance outcomes derived from their use. For managers, this study implies the need to explicitly consider interactions with and influences of supply chain partners in their quest to rapidly and effectively digitalize procurement.     

War and economy. Rediscovering the eighteenth-century military entrepreneur

Abstract

The detrimental effects traditionally assigned to warfare in the development of pre-industrial economies have obscured the prominent role that military entrepreneurs played in economic development in this period. Historiography minimises the extent to which war and the concomitant strengthening of the central state provided a whole new range of opportunities for capital investment, a tendency that has been strengthened by the paradigm of Redlich’s ‘decline of the soldier-entrepreneur’ and the technological determinism of the debate on the Military Revolution among others. The aim of this introduction is to look into the background of this relative lack of interest and to reaffirm the mutual dependence of eighteenth-century state-formation and the business of war.     

Problematizing socioemotional wealth in family firms: a systems-theoretical reframing

The concept of socioemotional wealth (SEW) seeks to present an independent paradigmatic basis for family-firm research, and in doing so aims to establish a sound basis for the scientific legitimacy of family-firm research. Establishing that legitimacy requires scholars to demonstrate that SEW is based on coherent assumptions on several theoretical levels. This paper uses the problematization methodology to challenge the coherence of the theoretical assumptions underpinning SEW and to advance theory development. The results of this problematization show that SEW is built on a theoretical level close to the object of research (in-house assumptions), but that more deeply-rooted theoretical levels (e.g. paradigmatic assumptions) are not sufficiently elaborated. Moreover, the original conceptualization is based on a positivist-mechanistic view, which hinders SEW reflecting the complex reality of family firms. Based on the results of this problematization, new systems theory is applied to reframe SEW’s theoretical grounding. Thereby the main contribution of the paper is a critical reflection on the theoretical underpinnings of SEW (in particular root-metaphor and paradigmatic assumptions), serving as the basis for advancing a coherent theoretical understanding of this important concept in family business research.     

Twenty-Five Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall: An Empirical Revisit of West German Consumers' Attitudes Toward Products and Brands from Former East Germany

More than 25 years after the German reunification, data show that products/brands from the eastern regions of Germany (“Neue Länder”) still do not have significant shares in the country's western part (“Alte Länder”). To analyze potential reasons for this phenomenon, our current study replicates a previous study that investigated selected attitudes of Alte Länder consumers toward products/brands from the Neue Länder. It is shown that factors such as consumer ethnocentrism, product judgment, willingness to buy, and economic animosity continue to influence consumer behavior and as such our study offers potential explanation for the failure of Neue Länder products/brands in the western regions of Germany.     

Has local informational advantage disappeared?

This study examines how changes in the information environment affect the informational advantage of geographically proximate agents. The long‐term advantage of local agents disappeared at the turn of the millennium. This is accompanied by the reduction in local bias of institutional investors and equity analysts. However, institutional investors continue to trade local stocks disproportionately more often than non‐local stocks; moreover, their local trades outperform non‐local trades in the short term—even for large and liquid stocks. Our results are consistent with improvements in the information environment shortening the horizon of proximity‐based informational advantage.     

阿莫西林克拉维酸钾片含量测定方法的改进

为解决实际应用中克拉维酸钾峰与后相邻杂质的分离度达不到要求的问题,建立了一种同时测定阿莫西林克拉维酸钾片中阿莫西林和克拉维酸钾含量的新方法,采用反相高效液相色谱法(RP-HPLC),Ultimate AQ-C_(18)色谱柱(4.6mm×250 mm,5μm),以pH值为4.4的0.05 mol/L磷酸二氢钠缓冲液为流动相,柱温为35℃,流速为1.0mL/min,检测波长为220nm。结果表明:阿莫西林和克拉维酸钾两主峰与相邻杂质得到完全基线分离,分离度大于1.5;克拉维酸钾对照品溶液质量浓度为0.050 0~0.500 1mg/mL时与峰面积的线性关系良好(r=0.999 8),平均回收率(n=9)为100.14%,RSD值为0.24%;阿莫西林对照品溶液质量浓度为0.100 0~1.000 1mg/mL时与峰面积的线性关系良好(r=0.999 9),平均回收率(n=9)为100.45%,RSD值为0.17%。与原有的《中华人民共和国药典》方法相比,新的阿莫西林克拉维酸钾片含量测定方法专属性好,准确度高,操作简便快捷,结果可靠,可作为一种质量控制方法。     

Supplier Development Practices for Sustainability: A Multi‐Stakeholder Perspective

Supplier development for sustainability is a critical element of sustainable supply chain management and requires extensive multi‐stakeholder collaboration. This article establishes a conceptual four‐stage framework to analyse the collaborative mechanisms of supplier development practices, and presents an exploratory, qualitative analysis to identify the major contributors of sustainable supplier development practices, such as NGOs, industrial associations, consulting firms etc. Based on semi‐structured interviews about 63 organizations from different regions and industries, this article identifies three types of contributor: drivers, facilitators and inspectors. Instead of traditional stakeholder engagement processes, these contributors actively collaborate with buying firms and suppliers to design, implement and evaluate sustainable supplier development programs. The article then provides a matrix to describe the supply chain coverage and supplier performance of supplier development practices, given the absence or positive involvement of facilitators and inspectors. We conclude our study by suggesting future research directions as well as discussing managerial implications. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

城市化进程中的乡村衰落现象：成因及治理——“乡村振兴战略”实施视角的分析

党的十九大报告提出了“实施乡村振兴战略”。乡村振兴是“中国梦”不可或缺的组成部分，城市化进程中的乡村衰落现象不容忽视，乡村问题的解决关系到乡村振兴战略能否实现和现代乡村能否建成。为此，剖析了我国乡村衰落的成因，探索了乡村振兴战略落实的办法，提出了现代乡村建设的可能路径。     

The Effect Of Advertising Content Control On Advertising Effectiveness In The Different Forced Exposure Circumstance

With advances in new technology, various formats of online advertising (e.g., in-stream video advertising) often force e-consumers to watch the advertisement during their goal-oriented activities, and this advertising interruption often makes them feel intruded upon and irritated. To reduce such negative reactions toward involuntary advertising exposures, this study examines whether offering e-consumers the option to choose advertising content can influence ad effectiveness in different degrees of forced exposure circumstance. Using a 2 (advertising content control: customization option vs. no option) × 2 (level of forced exposure: pre-rolls vs. rich media banners) factorial experiment, the researcher noted that advertising customization features generate a greater sense of relevance and increased advertising memory, which in turn may lead to more positive attitudes toward the ad regardless of the levels of forced exposure. The findings have theoretical and practical implications on the use of involuntary advertising interruptions in the web interface.