STRATEGIC ORIENTATION,CAPABILITIES, AND PERFORMANCE IN MANUFACTURER — 3PL RELATIONSHIPS

This study examines how two dimensions of strategic orientation (customer and competitor orientation) influence logistics and market performance. Two capabilities, operational flexibility and collaboration, are studied. Data were collected from manufacturers working with third party logistics providers. The findings suggest that customer and competitor orientations have different influences upon performance when leveraged through the capabilities. Competitor orientation, while having a detrimental direct effect on logistics performance, appears to be the better strategic approach, when supported with operational flexibility since it results in enhanced logistics (efficiency) and market (effectiveness) performance. Customer orientation, on the other hand, greatly improves logistics performance, i.e., internal efficiency.     

Job Creation and Job Destruction in a Regulated Labor Market: The Case of Austria

We study Austrian job reallocation in the period of 1978 to 1998, using a large administrative dataset where we correct for spurious entries and exits of firms. We find that on average 9 out of 100 randomly selected jobs were created within the last year, and that about 9 out of randomly selected 100 jobs were destroyed within the next year. Hence, the magnitude of Austrian job flows seems to be comparable to other countries, similar to the well-known results of Davis et al. (1996) for the United States. Job reallocation appears to be driven primarily by idiosyncratic shocks. However, job creation increases significantly during cyclical upswings whereas job destruction rises in downturns. We also find substantial persistence of job creation and destruction. The pronounced pattern of job reallocation rates falling with firm size and age continues to hold when we use a set of controls. Finally, we show that – controlling for sector and firm size composition – Austrian job reallocation rates are only half the rates for the U.S. This result is not surprising given the impact of tighter regulation and labor law in Austria.     

In-house competition, organizational slack, and the business cycle

Multiplant firms pit their facilities against each other for production assignments. The present paper studies the consequences of this practice in a model where production is limited by capacity constraints and asymmetric information allows facilities to accumulate slack. It shows the amount of slack per unit of output to be pro-cyclical. Indeed, as capacity constraints become more acute in economic booms, the power of in-house competition for quota assignments is reduced and slack per unit of output increases, while the opposite is true in downturns. Moreover, in downturns firms may use higher cost facilities even when lower cost plants are not running at capacity since this boosts X-efficiency in low-cost plants.     

Testing Fairness Principles for Public Environmental Infrastructure Decisions

Group Decision and Negotiation - Public infrastructure decisions affect many stakeholders with various benefits and costs. For public decisions, it is crucial that decision-making processes and...     

Procurement of logistics services and sustainable development in Europe: Fields of activity and empirical results

This paper strives to answer the general question; how far purchasers of logistics services take into account aspects of sustainable development. Modeled on the German Sustainable Development Strategy, which is based on the EU Sustainable Development plan, five fields of activity are defined: the reduction of transport intensity and emission, the reduction of land use, the choice of carrier under consideration of sustainable aspects, the permanent improvement of working conditions, and the enhancement of qualified employment. Then, propositions for purchasing companies of logistics services are developed, which contribute to safeguard ecological as well as social sustainability. In order to conduct an explorative study, a questionnaire was sent to 750 purchase and logistics managers. It was found that purchasing companies place high value on ecological and social aspects. But the perceived importance is not associated with purchasing companies' own contributions to logistics service providers' sustainable activities. Additionally, it was seen that purchasing companies exert only a minor influence on logistics service providers regarding ecologically and socially sustainable actions. A fundamental precondition for a sustainably oriented procurement of logistics services can be seen in the purchasing companies' awareness of the need for integrating sustainable aspects in economic decisions.     

Understanding the impact of relational capital and organizational learning on alliance outcomes

This paper examines how relational capital influences the acquisition of knowledge among alliance partners. We propose that firms with higher levels of inter- and intrafirm learning are better able to achieve superior alliance outcomes. A conceptual framework is developed by integrating the relational view, organizational learning theory, and the resource-based view. We provide empirical evidence using large-sample data to test the model and find that trust and interaction creates a basis for knowledge acquisition across alliance partners. The results also indicate that when the firms are active in knowledge acquisition from alliance partners and dissemination of such knowledge within the organization, they are capable of enhancing satisfaction with the alliance relationship.     

Rise in Occupational Mobility Especially Amongst Women and Young People

Original Papers

Rise in Occupational Mobility Especially Amongst Women and Young PeopleSuccessful jobsearch often based on personal initiative     

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