The LeChatelier principle: the long and the short of it

Summary. Using ordinary calculus techniques, we investigate the conditions under which LeChatelier effects are signable for finite changes in parameter values. We show, for example, that the short run demand for a factor is always less responsive to price changes than the long run demand, provided that the factor of production and the fixed factor do not switch from being substitutes to being complements (or vice versa) over the relevant range of the price change. The absence of a sign change in the complementarity/substitutability relation holds under conditions that are considerably more general than supermodularity of the production function.     

Are Patenting Activities in U.S. Universities Still Affected by Bayh-Dole Act？

Based on four data sources, the trends of the patent activities of US universities in the last 40 years are quantitatively assessed. It has been found that patenting activities in U.S. universities slowed down greatly after 2000 and remained flat until the period from 2010 to 2012, when activities recover to the level of strength characterizing the period before 2000 and after the enactment of the Bayh-Dole Act. The affects of the （Bayh-Dole） Act on the university patenting activities （UPAs） are specifically analyzed for the time span considered. We found that the impacts of the Act had been remaining strong until the year of 1999 and then greatly diminished. We also identify that economic recessions are the major cause to the flatness of the patenting activities during 2000s. Recently, many concerns on university patent activities have been raised; these concerns are reviewed and recommendations to resolute to these concerns are provided.     

A STOCHASTIC SETTING TO BANK FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE FOR REFINING EFFICIENCY ESTIMATES

This study contributes to develop a framework to measure the financial performance of banks in a stochastic setting. The framework comprises several steps, the first of which is the development of a financial performance measurement model to evaluate a bank's financial performance using a set of factors from the CAMEL (Capital adequacy, Assets, Management Capability, Earning and Liquidity) system. Second, the stochastic setting of the efficiency measurement is handled using the data collection budget allocation approach, whereby Monte Carlo simulations are used to analyse additional generated data and a genetic algorithm is used to refine the accuracy of the efficiency estimates. The results show that the accuracy of the model is greatly improved using the proposed approach. In contrast to the conventional deterministic model, the proposed framework is more useful to managers in determining the bank's future financial operations to improve the overall financial soundness of the bank. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of ethical sales behaviour,expertise, corporate reputation,and performance on relationship quality and loyalty

This analysis examines the influence of ethical sales behaviour, salesperson expertise, service performance, corporate reputation, and corporate performance on relationship quality and its consequences from multi-level perspectives in order to identify the nature of mix relationships at different levels. A survey with 505 qualified observations from financial institutions' customers in Taiwan was conducted. A structural equation modelling approach was used. Ethical sales behaviour, salesperson expertise, service performance, corporate reputation, and corporate performance, that is, the antecedents of relationship quality, have significant effects on relationship quality. Relationships exist between salespeople and customers, but customers also establish relationship with the retailers themselves. Satisfactory relationship quality has positive effects on commitment and loyalty. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Making customer relationship management work: evidence from the banking industry in Taiwan

Soon after becoming a WTO member, Taiwan found the internationalisation and liberalisation in the financial industry ushered its domestic banks into a new era. In response to this global trend, all its banks strove to rely on customer relationship management (CRM) to enhance customer value (CV). This study aims to probe further into the connection between CV and CRM. A series of examinations revealed that (1) both functional and social value impact customer behaviour directly and positively; (2) customer satisfaction positively and directly affects customer loyalty; (3) a positive and direct relationship exists between customer loyalty and customer behaviour; and (4) the positive and significant relationship between CV and customer behaviour can be developed through mediators such as customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Consequently, banks should offer their customers different services, products, and marketing channels to meet their diversified needs to cultivate a win-win environment of CRM for both parties.     

Configuration of innovation and performance in the service industry: evidence from the Taiwanese hotel industry

This study attempts to state some facts about the importance of innovation in the service economy, and especially the hotel industry by classifying the configurations of innovation in Taiwanese hotels, as well as considering the types of innovation configuration that will maximise performance. Technological innovation, organisational innovation, and human capital innovation may be key sources of innovation. This study classified the configurations of innovation based on several innovation activities with two-step cluster analysis. Numerous empirical findings facilitate improved understanding of the relationship between the configurations of innovation and firm performance in the Taiwanese hotel industry.     

The Determinants of Relative Wage Change in Australia

This article uses data from 3500 Australian workers to investigate which factors have had a significant influence on microeconomic wage growth over the years 1997 to 2000. The relative importance of four types of factors—outside incomes, demand for labour, workers' relative bargaining strength and category of wage contract—are compared. Basic individual demographic characteristics and some indicators of workers' bargaining power provided most of the explanation for wage changes. Proxy variables for labour demand, while significant and correctly signed, were small in magnitude.     

Patent Licensing in the Presence of Trade Barriers

We develop a two‐country duopoly model to explore the optimal licensing contract for an outsider licensor in terms of fixed‐fee and royalty licensing by taking into account trade barriers when firms produce a homogeneous product and engage in Bertrand competition in each market. The present paper focuses on the interaction between licensing and trade barriers in two international markets. We show that both royalty and non‐exclusive fixed‐fee licensing can be optimal. Furthermore, exclusive fixed‐fee licensing can be optimal, which is a result that is not discussed in the existing literature.     

Do changes in demographic characteristics explain declining male employment rates? Examination of the Australian case using a propensity score re-weighting decomposition approach

Using Australian data spanning the period from 1981 to 2001, we apply a propensity score re-weighting decomposition approach to investigate the extent to which the large decline in the male employment population rate over this period can be attributed to changes in socio-demographic characteristics. We find that changes in observed characteristics account for little of the aggregate decline. However, changes in characteristics are found to be important for population sub groups. In particular, changes in partner status and partner employment status have acted to decrease employment rates of younger males, but increase employment rates of older males. A further finding is that, holding observed characteristics constant, there has been a very large decline in the employment rate of 55–64-year-olds with bachelor degree qualifications. In the course of applying the decomposition method, we illustrate that validity of inferences depends on ‘appropriate’ specification of the reweighting function.     

Assessing market penetration combining scenario analysis, Delphi, and the technological substitution model: The case of the OLED TV market

The technological substitution model, proposed in 1971, was designed to analyze the penetration process of new-generation technologies replacing old ones. It was expanded in 1979 to consider more than two generations and the substitution process among various entities in the market. However, this expanded model is often limited by a relative lack of data on the latest-generation technology.On the other hand, scenario analysis, as another breed to forecasting tool, provides rich and complex portraits of possible future development of technologies. However, it fails to provide quantifiable forecasts. Therefore, previous researchers combined these two methods to analyze the development of new technologies.Nevertheless, to make forecasting more holistic, the current opinions of seasoned experts should also be taken into account. However, because of the often-diverged expert opinions, a method for consensus building, such as the Delphi method, is also necessary. Therefore, we combined the scenario analysis with the Delphi method and the technological substitution model to analyze the development of a new technology, namely, the latest-generation television (TV), or the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV. We elaborate three possible scenarios, and forecast the market share of OLED TV and four other TV technologies in the global market over the next 10 years: cathode ray tube, rear projection, plasma display panel, and liquid crystal display.