Zur Lage der Kommunikationswissenschaft und ihrer Fachgesellschaft. Ergebnisse der DGPuK-Mitgliederbefragung 2003

Like other broad disciplines in the media/communications field, communication science is characterized by rapid growth and increasing diversity and hence confusion. That also affects the discipline’s scholarly associations. So the German Association for Communication Science (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft, DGPuK), the largest German-speaking association in this field, conducted a survey among its members in early 2003. This article reports on the design and findings of this study, focusing on the perception and evaluation of the association and on the scholarly orientations (theoretic perspectives and methodologies) of its members. Various subgroups within the DGPuK diverge in their positions and opinions. This applies in particular to the less well represented research traditions and subdisciplines (as compared to the social-scientific mainstream), which tend to view the DGPuK as one-sided. Deviations also show for professionals working outside the academic field (as compared to DGPuK members from universities) and in part for older members and women. The findings not only give an up-to-date picture of the state of the DGPuK but also shed light on the situation and development of the discipline as a whole.     

On the Benefits of Withholding Knowledge in Organizations

Transferring knowledge to an agent makes him more successful or productive, which is beneficial for the principal. However, knowledge transfer also increases the agent’s outside option. I identify two reasons for withholding knowledge — to reduce labor costs within a principal–agent relationship, and to weaken the agent in case of a separation. Moreover, the role of synergy is discussed both for building up a principal–agent relationship and for transferring knowledge. While synergy is decisive for knowledge transfer, cooperation between the principal and agent may even take place in the absence of synergy. Furthermore, I analyze whether the principal is more likely to transfer knowledge to a more able or to a less able agent. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of a noncompetition clause are briefly discussed.     

Pricing in Segmented Markets, Arbitrage Barriers, and the Law of One Price: Evidence from the European Car Market

The paper uses micro‐level price data from the European car market to examine why there are deviations from the law of one price. The absolute law of one price is strongly rejected, but there is convergence to its relative version. Two sets of explanations are considered: (i) price‐setting in segmented markets, and (ii) arbitrage barriers. Overall, the determinants of arbitrage costs have more explanatory power. The single most important factor is the distance between markets. Evidence for Belgium and Luxembourg suggests that a single currency lowers price differences significantly.     

BUILDING CARS TO CUSTOMER ORDER — WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR INBOUND LOGISTICS OPERATIONS?

The automotive industry is undergoing a strategic transition. Cost pressure from rising stock levels in the market and increasing incentives needed to sell these vehicles are forcing vehicle manufacturers to rethink their prevalent “stock‐push” approach, building vehicles against a forecast and selling from stock, in favor of a stock‐less “build‐to‐order” order fulfillment strategy. More responsive order fulfillment at the vehicle manufacturer level however will not only require flexible and responsive component supply, but will also have wide ramifications for the logistics operations. Based on three case studies of major inbound logistics operations, this exploratory study assesses their ability to support such a build‐to‐order approach, as well as the potential implications of such transition. The paper concludes with a set of general strategies for how these implications could be mitigated.     

Optimal risk taking in an uneven tournament game with risk averse players

We analyze the optimal choice of risk in a two-stage tournament game between two players that have different concave utility functions. At the first stage, both players simultaneously choose risk. At the second stage, both observe overall risk and simultaneously decide on effort or investment. The results show that those two effects which mainly determine risk taking – an effort effect and a likelihood effect – are strictly interrelated. This finding sharply contrasts with existing results on risk taking in tournament games with symmetric equilibrium efforts where such linkage can never arise. Conditions are derived under which this linkage leads to a reversed likelihood effect so that the favorite (underdog) can increase his winning probability by increasing (decreasing) risk which is impossible in a completely symmetric setting.     

Delegation and strategic incentives for managers in contests

Owners usually want their managers to maximize profits. As the literature on strategic delegation has shown it may be beneficial to owners to put a positive weight on sales in the optimal linear incentive scheme for managers to make them behave more aggressively in the market. This paper shows that if the competition between the managers can be characterized as a contest, owners may induce their managers to maximize sales. Moreover, there is a first‐mover advantage for owners when choosing their incentive schemes. If delegation is endogenous the type of contest will determine whether all owners delegate their decisions to managers or not. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Representation and Educational Background of European Economists in Top Journals of Economics

We assess the contribution of European authors to 10 topjournals of economics from 1980 to 1998. Despite efforts on the European Union and national levels topromote academic excellence, European authors still play a minor role in top journals. Examining the development overtime we find little evidence for an increasing share of European contributions. Particular attention has been paidto the educational background of European authors. There is still a segmentation of academic education alonglanguage barriers in continental Europe. However, a considerable proportion of European authors has received a PhD from the US.