Business networks and retail internationalization: A case analysis in the fashion industry

The paper presents different theoretical perspectives on the issue of business networks and their role in the process of internationalization. With regard to methodology, a specific case study is conducted of a vertically integrated firm in the fashion supply chain, which has implemented branding and retailing strategies in international markets. The case analysis, which is the result of a longitudinal study conducted over several years, aims at an in depth analysis of the extent to which business relationships represent a learning context involving opportunities/constraints in the internationalization process. The paper outlines the relationship between the specific business model, the international patterns followed, and business relationships. Three research questions are posed and discussed. Some final remarks on the relationships between business networks and international retail expansion conclude the work.     

Risk averse retail pricing with robust demand forecasting

Good demand estimates are the key to effective pricing decision-making. However, they are subject to a high degree of uncertainty due to various factors that are unpredictable or difficult to model, thus making pricing decisions risky. This research provides a simple proposal for a robust optimization methodology that incorporates both demand uncertainty and the decision maker's degree of risk aversion. Uncertainty is explicitly considered for two coefficients of a linear demand function, price expressions are derived, and a criterion is proposed for defining the degree of risk aversion. The resulting model is also applied to an exponential demand case to better reflect a more realistic retail setting.     

Effects of correlation on intermittent demand forecasting and stock control

This study investigates the effects of three different types of correlation on forecasting and stock control of intermittent demand items. Applying appropriate forecasting and stock control methods to theoretically generated compound Poisson demand data we show that correlation in intermittent demand does play a role in forecast quality and stock control performance. Negative autocorrelation levels lead to higher service levels than positive values, while cost does not significantly change. Our results also show that high intermittency levels intensify these changes in service level. We also show that cross-correlation produces results in the opposite direction of autocorrelation in size or intervals; that is, positive (negative) cross-correlation leads to higher (lower) service levels.     

基于神经网络的产品突破性创新机遇识别

为了帮助企业在进行技术研发之前识别出最有潜力的技术,提高产品突破性创新的成功概率,提出了一种在模糊前端阶段进行突破性创新机遇识别的定量方法。首先,通过文献研究,确定产品突破性创新的路径特征,并提取产品突破性创新的相关影响因素,通过建立解释结构模型（ISM）提取并构建产品突破性创新机遇识别特征体系。其次,对突破性创新案例和非突破性创新案例进行特征对比,以各特征因素变化趋势为自变量,建立神经网络。最后,对样本数据进行拟合,构建产品突破性创新机遇识别模型。研究结果表明,研究所提模型能够对产品的突破性创新机遇进行有效识别,可应用于产品创新设计过程的模糊前端阶段。研究可为企业在突破性创新项目中更有效地进行机遇识别提供理论指导。     

基于神经网络的无刷直流电机故障诊断和容错控制方法的研究

提出并设计了一种针对无刷直流电机控制器的故障诊断和容错控制方法。该神经网络状态观测器由实际非线性控制系统进行训练,根据实际系统和神经网络观测器输出残差,容错控制系统能够被确定下来。针对系统控制器、电流和速度传感器的故障条件进行了仿真分析,容错控制通过使用补偿控制器实现,保证系统故障条件下的稳定性和性能。结果表明,所提出的方法能有效地定位错误故障和时间,消除干扰并提高系统的鲁棒性。     

On the interaction between forecasting and stock control: The case of non-stationary demand

The effect of using estimated (forecast) demand parameters on the performance of an inventory control system is an intriguing and important subject. Recent research has been undertaken on this phenomenon assuming stationary demand data. In this paper we extend the research to non-stationary demands, by means of simulation. The case of a periodic order-up-to-level inventory system is considered and the experimental structure allows us to evaluate in a progressive manner the accumulated effect of using the optimal forecasting method, optimal forecast parameters and correct variance expression procedures. The results allow insights to be gained into operational issues and demonstrate the scope for improving stock control systems.     

Clusters,networks, and firm innovativeness

This paper extends current knowledge of industry clusters by disentangling the effects of networks from cluster (i.e., distinctly geographic) mechanisms on firm performance as well as by studying the influence of these different mechanisms on firms located inside and outside the industry cluster. It also highlights the importance of simultaneously modeling multiple networks which may differentially influence important firm outcomes. In the paper, I model the innovativeness of Canadian mutual fund companies as a function of their geographic location—inside or outside the industry cluster of Toronto—and of their centrality in networks of managerial and institutional ties. I find that locating in the industry cluster as well as centrality in the managerial tie network enhances firm innovation, while centrality in the institutional tie network does not. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managing innovation networks: Exploratory evidence from ICT, biotechnology and nanotechnology networks

This study examines the management of innovation networks which has enjoyed increased recognition in the marketing literature due to its growing prominence and relevance. By testing a causal model relating network factors to outcomes, the study contributes to theory development on managing innovation at the net level of analysis. Consequently, it contributes to the respective marketing literatures on new product development, open innovation, industrial marketing and its emerging network management sub-stream. It also offers a methodological contribution as respondents include key players from businesses, government agencies, research organizations and universities rather than from only one focal organization as studies in extant literature have predominantly done. Findings are based on 219 responses from Australian high technology networks, namely, information and communications technology and biotechnology/nanotechnology. The study offers valuable implications for marketing managers involved in new product development and innovation concerning strategies for managing their inter-organizational innovation initiatives effectively.     

Modelling and forecasting national introduction times for successive generations of mobile telephony

An accurate prediction of the timing of a country's introduction of a new generation of mobile telephony benefits numerous agents including suppliers of network and consumer equipment, regulators, and network planners. We consider the estimation and prediction of the time interval between the international introduction of a generation of mobile telephony and its introduction into a specific country when a decision maker judges the introduction of a newer technology a worthwhile investment. Using literature-based socio-economic and geographical variables, we examine how well variation in international introduction times of four generations of mobile telephony in 172 countries can be explained and forecast. We model and forecast introduction times at two levels of granularity: we use Cox's proportional hazards model for the introduction time; we partition countries into introduction time-based segments and model segment membership using multinomial logistic regression. Our modelling of each generation considers three subsets of explanatory variables: All variables, socio-economic Covariates only, Regional dummies only. Over successive generations, the Covariates only models reveal the changing relevance of each socio-economic covariate. Model-based forecasting of the introduction time of the next generation is performed under three hypotheses making different uses of the information available at the time the relevant generation is launched internationally. However, changing socio-economic environments coupled with changing models impair forecasting accuracy, the lower accuracy of modelled introduction times is concentrated in 20% of countries. We speculate about the nature of the unobserved factors affecting these countries' decision processes.     

Competition in business networks

Most of those who write about marketing or strategy appear to view competition as the overarching logic of business. Commentators have usually associated competition with improved economic efficiency and customer well-being: they have regarded it as “a good thing”, at least in the abstract or when it only affects others. In contrast to the widespread interest of other researchers and the preoccupations of managers with competition, researchers within the IMP tradition have devoted hardly any attention to the issue in over thirty years of research and the term occurs only infrequently in the IMP literature.     

Empirical forecasting of slow-onset disasters for improved emergency response: An application to Kenya’s arid north

Mitigating the negative welfare consequences of crises such as droughts, floods, and disease outbreaks, is a major challenge in many areas of the world, especially in highly vulnerable areas insufficiently equipped to prevent food and livelihood security crisis in the face of adverse shocks. Given the finite resources allocated for emergency response, and the expected increase in incidences of humanitarian catastrophe due to changing climate patterns, there is a need for rigorous and efficient methods of early warning and emergency needs assessment. In this paper we develop an empirical model, based on a relatively parsimonious set of regularly measured variables from communities in Kenya’s arid north, that generates remarkably accurate forecasts of the likelihood of famine with at least 3 months lead time. Such a forecasting model is a potentially valuable tool for enhancing early warning capacity.     

Satellite data networks for national development

This article assesses the telecommunications needs of developing countries and the possibility of using satellite communications to meet those needs. Three primary technological factors provide a guide to this application: small inexpensive satellite earth stations can provide a solution to the problem of limited ground facilities; satellites can operate in a broadcast and multiple acess mode as well as in a conventional point- to-point mode; and, the capacity required to support a single interactive digital terminal is about 1000 times less than that required to support a voice telephone and abput 1 000 000 times less than that required for video transmission. These factors lead to consideration of new forms of national networks based on satellites, microprocessors and small earth stations which do not follow the North American model. These new advanced forms of networks can co-exist with conventional voice networks, and can provide a realistic alternative for consideration by national telecommunications authorities.     

Strategizing in industrial networks

This paper provides an overview of the implications for strategizing offered by an industrial network perspective and a comparison of this view with strategic management thinking. We argue that it is crucial for a company to relate its activities to those of other firms in order to enhance its performance, and it is through the continuous combining and recombining of existing resources that new resource dimensions are identified and further developed within business relationships. From the standpoint of a single company, strategizing from an industrial network perspective implies that the heterogeneity of resources and interdependencies between activities across company boundaries, as well as the organized collaboration among the companies involved, must be considered simultaneously.     

International research teams as analysts of industrial business networks

This paper analyzes case studies in the context of industrial business networks, and in particular from the IMP (Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group) perspective. Two features have been prominent in this research tradition: collaboration in international research teams and interest in business between international customers and their suppliers. Still, researchers seldom discuss the challenges with the international aspects of the research team (as the subject of study) or of the business relations (as the object of study). This paper shows the complications of analyzing international business relations, namely, relations that cross national boundaries, and investigates how an international research team can tackle the challenges of international business network studies. The key contributions are, firstly, to indicate the lack of attention on the methodological requirements and opportunities that the international features create for the analysis of business networks and, secondly, to investigate how collaboration in an international research team may advance the analysis of both international industrial marketing relations and broader business networks.     

Interpartner legitimacy in regional strategic networks

Our aim is to add to the knowledge on a network level, focusing on if, and how, interpartner legitimacy affects the success or failure of network formation and development processes. Existing network theories and research tend to focus on resource exchange rather than on how actors perceive each other in terms of being legitimate or not. The purpose of the article is to analyze the interpartner legitimacy's influence on the formation and development processes of regional strategic networks (RSNs) from a network level. Two Swedish cases are discussed in terms of pragmatic, moral and cognitive interpartner legitimacy. The cases and the following discussion illuminate that interpartner legitimacy is important to incorporate into the analytical model if we wish to understand the processes of negotiations on the rules and norms which set the possibilities for survival of multi-actor interactions.     

神经网络PID控制器在温度控制中的应用

采用计算机技术,能够方便地将神经网络PID控制器应用于实际工业过程中。在介绍基于对角递归神经网络辨识的PID控制器结构及学习算法的基础上,采用PCS-B型过程控制系统实验装置,以MCGS组态软件为运行平台,对加热器温度控制系统进行了实验研究。实验结果表明,通过神经网络PID控制策略组态,能够在线调整PID控制器参数,在温度控制实验中获得了满意的控制效果。     

Machine and labor flexibility in manufacturing networks

Many industrial companies today operate under strict employment legislation and work agreements. Since flexible capacity has been widely recognized as an important hedge against uncertain demand, there exist strong efforts to introduce more flexible workforce models. In this paper, we investigate the benefits of such labor flexibility and its interplay with machine flexibility from a network capacity investment perspective.We consider a firm that has to invest simultaneously in labor and machine capacity under uncertain demand and a given network configuration while anticipating the deployment of labor flexibility after demand has been realized. Instruments of labor flexibility range from temporary employment to personnel transfers between plants. The underlying decision problem is formulated as a two-stage stochastic program with recourse.Based on numerical studies and the analysis of a stylized model, we demonstrate the impact of labor flexibility on the optimal levels of machine and labor capacity. We compare the benefits obtained by personnel transfers with those of temporary workers and find that temporary employment always decreases the number of permanent workers, while personnel transfers may even allow for a larger workforce. Our results further indicate that personnel transfers are more effective in larger manufacturing networks although these benefits are decreasing when most plants in the network are capable of producing more than one product (machine flexibility). Finally, we present evidence for the efficiency of a combined usage of personnel transfers and temporary workers.     

无线传感器网络中的IMP-HCRL定位算法

分析了HCRL定位算法的原理和过程,在继承了HCRL低系统通信开销优点的基础上,针对其在计算复杂度和定位精度方面的不足,应用了3种改进策略———基于节点无线射程的改进策略、基于等比点的改进策略和基于等力点的改进策略,提出了改进的IMP-HCRL算法。仿真实验表明:IMP-HCRL定位算法不仅保持了HCRL在节省系统通信量上的优势,同时提高了定位精度,降低了系统的计算复杂度。     

遗传算法优化BP神经网络的岩质边坡稳定性预测

为了解决边坡工程中非线性变化给稳定性预测造成的困难,建立了GA-BP神经网络计算模型预测岩质边坡稳定性。采用定性评价和相互作用矩阵复核的方式,选取边坡坡度、边坡高度、斜坡结构类型、岩体强度、控滑结构面倾角、岩体结构特征、地表变形强度、人类活动强度8个评价因子作为BP神经网络的输入变量;利用遗传算法对神经网络的初始权值和阈值进行优化后训练岩质边坡稳定性预测模型;对比分析GA-BP神经网络和BP神经网络的预测效果。结果表明,优化后的预测结果误差绝对值小于0.15的占85%,未优化的传统神经网络仅占45%,优化后的预测结果更加接近真实值,表明遗传算法对传统BP神经网络的优化是有效的。研究结果对建立岩质边坡稳定性预测模型具有一定的参考价值。