Organizational learning in exporting: A bibliometric analysis and critical review of the empirical research

In the latest decades, empirical research on organizational learning in the export context has recorded an increasing trend. On the other hand, in spite of the wealth of research on the subject, no effort has yet been made to offer an integrative review to investigate the improvement of this body of knowledge. To fill this gap, this study endeavors to synthesize the stream of empirical research on organizational learning in the field of exporting published between 1997 and 2017. Initially, the relevant studies were bibliometrically analyzed on the basis of the data gathered from the Web of Science database. The bibliometric data analysis indicates the most influential publication outlets, most influential institutions, most influential scholars, and most influential articles in relation to organizational learning in the export literature. Additionally, each article was content-analyzed in terms of scope of research, research methodology, and empirical issues. The content analysis reveals that albeit significant progress, organizational learning research within the context of exporting is still at the introduction stage and certain weaknesses in scope, research designs, and conceptual understanding attract criticism.     

Defining Ownership: An empirical assessment of the ownership measures

Ownership is considered to be one of the crucial governance mechanisms; however, there have been no systematic attempts at validating the construct and measures used to operationalize ownership. We review the current understanding of ownership and the measures used by each perspective, namely blockholder/dispersed shareholder perspective, owner identity perspective, and aggregated ownership perspective. We thereafter critique each of these perspectives, offer hypotheses regarding their validity, and empirically assess each ownership measure vis‐à‐vis firm performance outcomes. We utilize a sample of 3,990 US firms to test our hypotheses and find no consistent results for the blockholder measure, or for the owner identity measure. However, the aggregated ownership measure consistently accounts for significant increases in explanation of variance in firm performance. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

COMPARING PPP WITH TRADITIONAL PROCUREMENT: THE CASE OF SCHOOLS PROCUREMENT IN IRELAND

Advocates of public‐private partnerships (PPPs) argue that they can deliver public infrastructure more efficiently than traditional procurement through timelier completion and superior value for money. Despite these claims comparative analysis of the performance of both procurement methods has received scant attention in the PPP literature to date. This paper addresses this issue by providing an in‐depth, case‐based comparison of PPP versus traditional procurement in the schools sector in Ireland. Through detailed semi‐structured interviews with key stakeholders and an examination of the available documentation, we assess whether the key objectives of using PPP have been achieved. Overall, we find no evidence that PPP leads to faster delivery of infrastructure when the overall procurement process from contract notice to delivery is accounted for. In addition, we find only limited evidence to suggest that PPP results in better value for money.     

自动涂胶系统胶枪的热分析

为研究自动涂胶系统的胶枪最优材质、最佳热源位置和最佳测温位置,利用ANSYS Workbench软件对自粘胶胶枪进行数值模拟.通过分析不同材质胶枪的温度场分布情况,结合经济性和加热性能,选定最优胶枪基材.同时分析得出加热自粘胶至工作温度的时间和保持工作温度的加热功率,确定了热源和测温点位置,拟定了升温策略.进行自粘胶胶枪加热试验,验证了仿真分析结果的准确性.     

粮食安全与农业结构调整水平的协整分析*——以广东省为例

[目的]实现我国粮食安全与农业结构调整之间(即粮食增产和农民增收)关系的协调,较长时间以来是学界、政界关注的重要议题,但定量分析两者之间内在依存关系的研究一直欠缺。[方法]文章采用协整分析及Granger因果关系检验方法,以广东为例,对我国粮食安全(用粮食总产量来衡量)与农业结构调整水平之间的协整性及因果关系进行了研究。[结果]广东粮食总产量与反映农业结构调整水平的3个指标之间均存在长期均衡关系,且农作物播种面积中粮食作物面积对广东粮食总产量影响最大,每下降1%,粮食总产量下降0. 659 548%。短期内,反映农业结构调整水平的3个指标对广东粮食总产量的影响均存在波动,但由短期偏离拉向长期均衡的牵动作用均较弱。Granger因果关系检验表明农业在国民经济中的比重、农作物播种面积中粮食作物面积早期对广东粮食总产量产生单向影响,但影响程度相对较弱。[结论]提出应从农业结构调整以外的因素着手提高我国粮食安全水平,并通过调整农业区域结构去缓解我国粮食供求市场的结构性矛盾。     

Comparing consumer-produced product reviews across multiple websites with sentiment classification

ABSTRACT

Online consumer reviews have been extensively studied. However, existing literature analyzing online consumer review data mostly relies on a single data source, resulting in potentially biased analytics conclusions. Many websites encourage consumers to post reviews of their purchased products, so that new consumers can evaluate these reviews for the same product across different websites to help them make purchasing decisions. Confusions often arise in this process, because there often exist substantial discrepancies in customer reviews across different retailers on the same product. Clarifying such confusions can help consumers reduce concerns to make up their mind for their purchases, therefore benefiting both consumers and retailers. Through text analytics and sentiment analysis, we comparatively examine the underlying patterns of online consumer reviews of three large retailers including Sears, Home Depot, and Best Buy for a same product. Afterward, we combine online consumer reviews from these large retailers and conduct an overall text analytics and sentiment analysis. The overall results are further compared with the results from individual retailers. The findings show that the sentiment of the online consumer reviews could vary substantially so relying on a single data source to make purchase decision is not a wise idea. Based on the results, we further devise a framework to comparatively examine and integrate multiple data sources for social media analytics of online consumer reviews. This study offers important managerial implications and identifies several new research directions for social media analytics.     

Cost analysis of plasma-derived factor VIII/von Willebrand factor versus recombinant factor VIII for treatment of previously untreated patients with severe hemophilia A in the United States

Background: Inhibitor development to factor VIII (FVIII) hemophilia therapy results in increased complications and substantial economic costs. The SIPPET study, the first randomized controlled trial to compare the immunogenicity of plasma-derived FVIII (pdFVIII)/von Willebrand factor (VWF) and recombinant-DNA-derived FVIII (rFVIII), demonstrated higher inhibitor rates in previously untreated patients (PUPs) treated with rFVIII than in PUPs treated with pdFVIII/VWF.

Objective: To quantify the economic impact of treating PUPs with pdFVIII/VWF vs rFVIII.

Methods: An Excel-based clinical and economic model was developed from a US healthcare payer perspective and run over a 5-year period. The analysis utilized a cohort approach to model patient treatment and outcomes over a monthly cycle to quantify differences in costs of FVIII, bypassing agents, and hospitalizations for serious bleeds. Rates of high-titer inhibitor development were obtained from the SIPPET study. Patients developing high-titer inhibitors were treated with immune tolerance induction (ITI). Patients who developed low-titer inhibitors and those who did not develop inhibitors continued their usual FVIII treatment. Patients who were successfully treated with ITI returned to FVIII treatment, while unsuccessfully treated patients received bypassing agents. Total costs per treated patient were estimated and a one-way sensitivity analysis was conducted to quantify the impact of parameter uncertainty on the model outcomes.

Results: Total cumulative costs per patient over 5 years were $834,621 for pdFVIII/VWF patients and $1,237,163 for rFVIII patients, representing a total saving of $402,542 per patient over the 5-year period, for an average annual saving of $80,508 per patient.

Conclusions: Based on data from the SIPPET study, this analysis found that initiating FVIII treatment in severe hemophilia A PUPs with pdFVIII/VWF has the potential to offer substantial cost savings to healthcare payers, amounting to a one-third reduction in costs.     

Economic interpretations of DEA

Research on productive efficiency at the firm level has developed as an important and active strand of research the last decades, both within operations research, management science and economics. Two apparently different definitions of efficiency are examined, but it is shown that when both estimation methods are based on solving linear programming problems the definitions of efficiency are identical. The purpose of the paper is to give the basic ideas of efficiency analyses using DEA as a tool for researchers not so familiar with efficiency analysis and DEA. The concept of shadow prices is given special attention.     

河南省中牟县低碳农业发展评价研究

[目的]以河南省中牟县为研究对象,通过评价中牟县低碳农业发展水平,试图探索适合中牟县低碳农业的发展道路,并为当地低碳农业发展提供参考依据。[方法]文章采用统计数据分析法、调查统计分析法以及层次分析法。搜集分析2005~2015年中牟县低碳农业相关数据,构建低碳农业系统发展评价指标体系,得出中牟县低碳农业历年综合得分。[结果]中牟县低碳农业发展呈逐年上升趋势,2005~2015年年均增长率14.50%。其中,农业社会因素、农业经济因素发展得分高于低碳农业综合得分,年均增长率分别为23.90%、25.20%,但农业资源和环境方面发展缓慢,年增长率分别为2.30%、-1.40%。[结论]中牟县低碳农业呈现稳固上升发展态势。2005~2015年中牟县低碳农业数据分析表明,农业社会和经济系统的发展是中牟县低碳农业发展的重要推动力;而农业资源的投入、农业环境问题已成为中牟县低碳农业发展的主要阻碍制约因素。     

The Impact of Sustainability Aspects in the Meat Sector: A Cluster Analysis Based on Consumer Attitudes and Store Format Choice

Several consumer studies have shown considerable market potential for sustainable meat products, however, their markets shares are still marginal. In Germany, the sustainable aspects “organic,” “local origin,” and “animal welfare” are of special interest. To obtain a precise overview of potential target groups for these meat categories and their choice of store format, 620 German consumers were surveyed on their attitudes toward sustainable meat production and their shopping behavior. First, target groups based on consumers’ attitudes were identified by cluster analysis, taking into account possible overlaps. Consumers were also clustered by their store format choice and their preferred type of meat packaging. A cross tabulation of the results then provided insights into which store format and type of meat packaging is preferred by the target groups for sustainable meat products. Due to overlaps found in the target groups, the existence of important subgroups was shown. Amongst the target groups, only a slight preference for unpackaged meat products was found. Basically, the offer of sustainable meat products appears of interest for all store formats, with particular emphasis on supermarkets. The results of this study can support producers and retailers developing new and tailored marketing strategies for sustainable meat products.