Membership Benefits,Membership Action: Why Incentives for Activism Are What Members Want

SUMMARY

This article identifies the benefits of political party membership and which of these benefits also operate as incentives for participation. This exploration is conducted in the context of competing relationship marketing hypotheses, and frameworks from other relevant academic disciplines.

Exploratory empirical research identifies two purposive and three solidary benefits of membership. Values functional motivations, socialization and job satisfaction are identified as having statistically significant relationships with participation. Frequency of agreement with party policies and enhancement functional motivations do not appear to have any relationship with participation.

The article concludes that members using their membership as a vehicle for realizing solidary benefits are more likely to respond to incentives for participation, whilst those merely seeking a relationship with their party are more likely be inactive.     

企业管理中非正式制度的有效利用

企业规章制度多少并不能表示企业管理水平的高低。规章制度的有效发挥才能使企业具有良好的发展前景。制度是否有效不仅仅在于正式制度本身是否规范、合理,而且在制度的制定和执行过程中,非正式制度的作用同样不可忽视。     

我国农村金融结构与制度的二元分离与融合:经济发展视角的一个解释

我国现阶段农村金融市场正式与非正式金融的二元分割与共存，从浅层次上来看，是我国实行金融进入管制与利率管制等金融抑制政策的结果；深层次来看，是我国农村现阶段的经济发展水平及农村金融需求主体的多样性程度所决定的。我国农村经济发展的地区差异化、多层次化、内部与外部不平衡性就决定了我国农村金融制度的多样性与层次性。政府作为金融外在制度的设计者与供给者，其制度安排应是金融结构与农村经济发展状态的协调，是金融制度与农村社会内在制度发展的协调。     

潜规则与制度和经济秩序

自吴思的《潜规则》一书面世以来,＂潜规则＂已经成为家喻户晓的词汇。潜规则是区别于正式制度和非正式制度的第三种制度,它既依附于正式制度又逾越正式制度,造成多元规则并存,又腐蚀着非正式制度。尽管它增进了实施者的利益,却损害了经济效率和社会公平正义。为了压缩潜规则的运行空间,必须减小公权力所涉领域,充分发挥私权的作用,同时促进制度代理人与公共利益的共容。     

农村小企业融资实证分析——以江苏为例

本文通过对无锡、扬州两地37家农村企业调查,分析了无锡和扬州两地农村小企业融资存在的一些共性:正规金融市场贷款与企业规模、地域有关;民间金融市场贷款与“血缘”有关;抵押担保成为企业从正规金融市场贷款的主要方式;两地企业都存在融资瓶颈,主要体现在贷款审批程序的复杂性、严格的抵押规定或个人担保要求;企业主个人背景对借贷渠道存在相关性。     

城市正规就业与非正规就业收入差距及影响因素贡献——基于收入不平等的分解

本文使用CHNS 1997-2006的调查数据实证研究了城镇正规就业与非正规就业之间的收入差距及影响因素。收入不平等分解结果表明,正规就业与非正规就业之间存在显著的工资收入差距,但随着经济发展和劳动力市场供求的转变,两类就业者由于就业类别差异导致的"收入差异"呈缩减的趋势;受教育水平和工作经验等人力资本特征是两类就业者决定工资的主要影响因素,也是他们之间工资收入差距变化的主要贡献因素。     

经济发达地区农户借贷需求特征及影响因素研究——基于浙江温岭市的调查

对浙江温岭市379户农户借贷需求状况的调查结果显示:农户户均借款数额较大,且增长迅速;借贷资金主要来源于农村合作银行,但民间借贷也是一个补充途径;约75%的借贷资金用于非农产业;以一年内的短期借款为主;农户之间的民间借贷以低息、借条形式为主,规范性较好。进一步地,应用Logistic回归模型对农户借贷需求的影响因素进行定量分析,结果表明,农户的总收入、非农收入、借贷倾向、借贷次数、储蓄存款、从事行业和地理区域是对借贷需求具有显著影响的因素。     

企业内部控制规范实施：内在需求抑或外部推动？——基于江苏企业问卷调查的实证分析

文章利用来自江苏企业的400份问卷所得数据试图揭示究竟是内在需求还是外部因素在推动企业内控规范的实施。实证研究结果表明内在需求、外部正式制度及非正式制度对内控规范的实施均具有积极影响,但影响程度依次减弱;就不同规模企业而言,上述三方面对内控规范实施的影响存在差异;就内控五目标而言,它们对不同目标实现的影响也各不相同。根据研究结论,文章认为针对不同规模企业及不同内控目标有重点地采用不同制度实施方式方能以更符合成本效益的原则实现制度目标。最后,文章还就如何完善现有正式制度和非正式制度提出相应建议。     

Computer Aided Education

The computer is a tool to be used in the service of people and now more and more people are using computers throughout the world. The evolution of semiconductor technology in the 1960s, laid the foundation for the development of personal computers. The advent of personal computers has revolutionized the application of computers in science, engineering and business. The computer like other products of man's ingenuity, can be of benefit to education. Educational institutions from primary school to universities use personal computers to teach writing, reading, arithmetic, art, science, mathematics, music, history, geography, economics, business, architecture and engineering. As in most counties, computers are also used to improve education in schools in Turkey. The education system in Turkey in the secondary schools has more or less the same problems most developing countries face. There is a great expansion in numbers of pupils at all levels, resources available for education are very limited and effective teaching is hampered by the quality of instructional material and textbooks. The concept of enhancing the quality of both teaching and learning through new information technologies has been the main goal and policy of the Ministry of Education in Turkey and has been tackled in a serious manner. In this paper the present education system in the secondary schools in Turkey is explained and how computers can be implemented in Turkish secondary school education and strategies to be followed are discussed.     

The Relationship between Mutual TSI and Interfirm Contracts: The Moderating Effect of Strong Ties

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study examines the influence that tie strength has on contractual relationships between exchange parties with specific investments and also explores the role of network intensity in contractual relationships between buyers and suppliers. We hypothesize that the relationship between transaction-specific investments (TSIs) and contracts is moderated by network intensity.

Methodology: An empirical test is carried out by analyzing buyer–supplier relationships of manufacturing companies. The construct measures were based on those obtained from prior research, and the reliability and validity were established using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The overall measurement model was then assessed with structural equation modeling using AMOS.

Findings: We focus primarily on contract variables as a governance mechanism that can be affected by the strength of ties among firms and the results of our empirical study indicate that supplier TSIs improve the use of informal contracts while the use of formal contracts undermines the effect on supplier TSIs. In addition, we found that firms with weak ties with their partners in the network are more likely to use both formal and informal contracts than those with strong ties.

Contribution: Our study has several contributions. First, our research improves the understanding of the relationship between TSIs and the choice of contracts as a governance mechanism, especially for mutual TSIs. Second, our research improves our understanding of the network strength in the context of business-to-business relationships extending the understanding of the relationship intensity among firms in a network. Third, we focused on the effects of network intensity on contractual relationships.     

Getting Innovations Out of the Supplier Networks

Current research on purchasing is very much characterized by an interest in relationships. The earlier emphasis (within research as well as among practitioners) on the independence of the buying company-on handling suppliers at arm's length-has gradually been replaced by a more "cooperative" approach. Suppliers are generally more looked upon as external resources, which can be more efficiently used within the frame of close and long-term relationships. A corresponding interest for relationships can be found within research on technical development. There is an emphasis on the importance of relating their own development activities to the development of important counterparts and several studies point to the advantages of technical cooperation. The topic of this article thus involves two different, but in many aspects closely related problem areas, i.e., purchasing and innovation, and in order to treat them in an integrated way and to handle the connections that exist between them we use a network approach. The article is based upon two types of empirical data regarding corporate collaboration in technical development. First, material from a cross-sectional study is used to describe some general characteristics of innovative relationships. Secondly, there are two case studies which illustrate the situation where a buying company tries to combine several relationships in a development project. There are a number of opportunities and problems facing a company which tries to involve its suppliers in technical development, and this article puts forward four key issues concerning the handling of cooperative development processes: the problem of choosing partners as well as of trying to interest and engage those chosen; the problem of synchronization, in technical and other dimensions, of the actors involved in the development process; the problem of timing within and between various relationships; and, as there will always be some resistance to technical change within an industrial network structure, there must also be a mobilization of forces in favour of the development. In conclusion, a penetration of the four key issues in light of the empirical findings gives rise to some managerial implications regarding the use of network relationships in technical development.     

风险防范中的非利率条件、业缘型社会关系和关联性交易——基于温州民间借贷的经验考察

在直接机制与间接机制分析框架下,考察温州民间借贷的风险防范机制,研究表明:温州民间借贷通过灵活的贷款利率、较小的贷款金额、较短的贷款期限和指向生产经营的贷款用途来控制和降低信贷风险,非利率条件与利率条件一样成为贷款者控制风险的重要手段.温州民间借贷还利用血缘地缘关系、业缘型社会关系及关联性交易来防范借贷风险,在社会转型阶段,后两者能够更加有效地甄别风险、激励还款和保证合约实施.     

正式与非正式知识搜索、知识属性与产品创新

基于正式、非正式搜索的视角,以217家浙江中小型制造企业为样本,研究外部知识搜索对产品创新绩效的影响机制。实证结果表明：正式和非正式搜索对产品创新绩效均具有显著的正向影响,而知识缄默性正向调节正式搜索和产品创新绩效之间的正向关系,负向调节非正式搜索与产品创新绩效之间的正向关系;技术复杂性负向调节非正式搜索与产品创新之间的关系。上述发现确认了外部知识搜索在中小企业创新活动中的重要作用,同时也从知识属性角度识别了影响外部知识搜索效能的重要情境条件。     

How “space” and “place” influence subsidiary host country political embeddedness

As a part of multinational corporations (MNCs), subsidiaries operate in distinct host countries and have to deal with their external context. Host country political embeddedness, in particular, helps subsidiaries to obtain knowledge and understanding of the regulatory and political context, and to get access to local networks. Moreover, they get some guidance and support from their headquarters. Distance between MNC home and host countries, however, alienates subsidiaries from the MNC and influences the extent of subsidiary host country political embeddedness. We suggest that the host country political and regulatory context moderates the effect of distance on subsidiary host country political embeddedness by reducing the need and/or value of headquarters support. Using a sample of 124 European manufacturing subsidiaries, we find that distance (space) and context (place) matter jointly: the impact of distance is stronger for subsidiaries that operate in host countries with low governance quality and low political stability in place.