A comment on the role of prices for excludable public goods

Blomquist and Christensen [(2005). The role of prices for excludable public goods, International Tax and Public Finance, 12 ,61–79] argue that welfare is initially decreasing in the price of an excludable public good and that the case for a positive price for an excludable public good price is weak. We argue that this result follows from their particular characterization of the public good and that an alternative and equally reasonable characterization overturns their result. Hence, the policy case for a positive price on the public good is stronger than Blomquist and Christiansen suggest. JEL Classification H21 · H41     

Employee involvement and group incentives in manufacturing companies: a multi-level analysis

The effects of employee involvement and group incentives on organisational commitment and turnover intention were examined using data from a survey of over 4,000 employees in 29 manufacturing companies. Using the mediated moderation model, we investigated the moderating role of capital intensity on the relationships between employee involvement and group incentives and these outcomes, and the mediating role of organisational commitment on the effects of employee involvement and group incentives on turnover intention. The findings revealed that employee involvement is more effective in capital-intensive companies than in labour-intensive companies, but group incentives are more effective in labour-intensive companies. The moderated effects on turnover intention were mediated through organisational commitment. Implications for company policies and future research are discussed.     

Implementation of interorganizational cost management and its infrastructure: the case of a Korean ‘Chaebol’ firm

In this paper, purchasing innovation in the case of a distribution company is analysed from an interorganizational cost management (IOCM) perspective. In this company, purchasing costs play an important strategic role. This study suggests that a new practice of IOCM is necessary that is suitable for Korea's economic circumstances, including the family-controlled conglomerates (Chaebols) that dominate the entire economic system. The strong need to reduce purchasing costs within Chaebols and the Korean government policy that promotes joint growth of large and small firms are crucial factors in the successful implementation of IOCM practices. We also discuss the infrastructure that enables effective IOCM in the long term, thereby adding new findings to academic research in the area, and practical implications of this benchmark case for other companies planning purchasing innovations.     

Cognitive and affective approaches to employee participation: Integration of the two approaches

Numerous studies have examined cognitive and affective approaches to decision-making participation, but no study has attempted to integrate the two approaches. This is the first empirical study to apply the two approaches to financial participation. To integrate the two approaches, this study investigated the applicability of the two approaches to decision-making and financial participation as well as the relationship between two essential variables in each approach: information sharing and organizational commitment. The proposed hypotheses were tested by structural equation models using the Workplace Employment Relations Survey, which was conducted in Great Britain. The findings revealed that self-managing teams and group incentives were positively related to information sharing, which in turn were positively associated with organizational commitment and perceived company performance. Cross-cultural implications are discussed.     

McCloskey, economics as conversation, and Sprachethik

In writing about the 'rhetoric of economics' - particularlyabout the standards which prevent situations where 'anythinggoes' in argument - McCloskey takes an eclectic approach totwo philosophical positions, based on Rorty and Habermas respectively.But these positions, despite sharing some common aspects, alsodifferentiate themselves from each other sharply in importantways. In this paper, it is argued that this eclecticism of McCloskeyis not coherent, as a result of her not completely graspingthe fundamental differences between these two positions, andthat this incoherence has damaging implications for her projectof the rhetoric of economics.     

Supplier Selection Practices among Small Firms in the United States: Testing Three Models

One of the issues investigated in recent studies on small business enterprises involves the role of supply chain management. Supply chain management has become an important part of strategic planning in both large and small businesses in the 1990s as firms increasingly choose outsourcingas an externally-driven strategic growth path. This study examines the supplier selection practices among 78 small business executives in the midwest United States by testing three models: rational/normative, external control, and strategic choice. Although the results show support for all three models, the rational/normative model emerges as the most significant model for predicting the supplier selection practices of small firms.     

Has bank consolidation in Korea lessened competition?

This paper examines market concentration and competition in the Korean commercial banking market for the period of 1992–2004. While market concentration decreased due to financial regulation before the Asian financial crisis, the Korean banking industry has become increasingly concentrated in the process of restructuring and consolidation since the crisis. Contrary to a growing concern over market power in Korean banking, this study finds that increased concentration has not lessened competition. The H statistic of the Panzar–Rosse model indicates that the Korean commercial banking market was monopolistically competitive during the pre-crisis period and the post-crisis period with temporary deviation to the level of perfect competition during the crisis period.