The dark side of institutional intermediaries: Junior stock exchanges and entrepreneurship

Research Summary : Our study shows how institutional intermediaries established to foster the creation of new firms might hinder new firm growth instead. We show that intermediaries can reduce new firm growth rates due to institutional conflict. To analyze this idea, we examine the setting of junior stock exchanges, which are commonly formed to facilitate entrepreneurial growth. The introduction of these exchanges focused investment into new technology firms, reduced investment in other sectors, and led to diminishing new firm growth. Our findings demonstrate how institutional conflict causes unintended effects and reveals the complexity of influencing entrepreneurship with institutional intermediaries. Managerial Summary : Investors and entrepreneurs face uncertainty when deciding what firms to start and fund. We show that an intermediation effort to make entry easier for entrepreneurs increases the uncertainty that entrepreneurs and investors face. For investors, the enthusiasm for technology firms engendered by the new exchange can motivate investment in marginal firms to maintain as desired deal flow. However, lower firm growth and less liquidity in the future is likely. For entrepreneurs, our results indicate that it is more challenging to manage technology firm growth as well as there is potential opportunity to investigate other industries. Finally, for policy‐makers and supporters of the new exchanges, our results imply that investment flows are altered as intended, but unless listing standards remain high, the virtuous cycle of investment upon which a healthy entrepreneurial climate rests may be disrupted, muting the intended effects of the new exchange.     

ICT-specific technological change and economic growth in Korea

This study investigates the role of information and communication technology-specific technological change in Korea's past and future. The contribution of information and communication technology (ICT) to past economic growth through embodied technology in intermediate inputs and investment goods is revealed by the growth accounting methodology, which considers quality adjustment. Relative prices between ICT-related products and other goods provide an indirect measure for identifying embodied technologies. Meanwhile, ICT's contribution to future economic growth is examined via policy simulations using the computable general equilibrium model. The results imply that ICT has grown Korea's economy and that policy measures for increasing ICT investment are required for continued sustainable growth.     

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION

High technology investments are a rapidly growing segment of business capital expenditures. The questionnaire responses presented in this paper provide information on the capital investment decision processes currently being used for high technology projects. Respondents indicate that the capital evaluation techniques used to justify high technology investments are similar to those used for other types of capital projects and that high-tech projects must meet normal requirements for project acceptability. Respondents specified that a wide variety of factors, some quantified and some not quantified (such as quality control and reduced lead time), are included in their decision process. While there is general satisfaction with the procedures used for project justification, the relative newness of these investments suggests that there is a need to gather more detailed information about this type of capital decision.     

The optimal regulation of a risky monopoly

We study the potential conflict between cost minimization and investment in prevention for a risky venture. A natural monopoly is regulated i) for economic purposes; ii) because it can cause losses of substantial size to third parties (the environment or people). The regulator observes the production cost without being able to distinguish the initial type (an adverse selection parameter) from the effort (a moral hazard variable). In addition, the investment in prevention is non observable (another moral hazard variable) and the monopoly is protected by limited liability. We fully characterize the optimal regulation in this context of asymmetric information plus limited liability. We show that incentives to reduce cost and to invest in safety are always compatible. But, in some cases, higher rents have to be given up by the regulator.     

纵向研发合作中的投资决策与甄别合同设计

纵向研发合作中,研发产品的收益类型为开发单位的私有信息。本文考虑纵向研发合作中研究单位的单边合作性投资激励问题,建立了信息不对称时的投资决策模型,为研究单位设计了一个根据收益类型的先验概率制定相应的投资策略的信息甄别合同。研究结果表明：信息不对称导致研究单位的投资积极性降低,且投资水平随着风险率递减;当研发产品的收益类型增加或者开发单位的保留收益水平降低时,信息不对称导致的研发合作效率降低程度减少。为了缓解信息不对称导致的投资不足问题,结合信息披露和期权理论设计了一个退出权合同。     

Mobile phones,the Internet and the institutional environment

This paper empirically investigates the determinants of the Internet and cellular phone penetration levels in a cross-country setting. It offers a framework to explain differences in the use of information and communication technologies in terms of differences in the institutional environment and the resulting investment climate. Using three measures of the quality of the investment climate, Internet access is shown to depend strongly on the country's institutional setting because fixed-line Internet investment is characterized by a high risk of state expropriation, given its considerable asset specificity. Mobile phone networks, on the other hand, are built on less site-specific, re-deployable modules, which make this technology less dependent on institutional characteristics. It is speculated that the existence of telecommunications technology that is less sensitive to the parameters of the institutional environment and, in particular, to poor investment protection provides an opportunity for better understanding of the constraints and prospects for economic development.     

Should auctioneers supply early information for prospective bidders?

Consider an auction in which potential bidders must sink an entry investment before learning their values, but where the auction designer can release information so that the bidders learn their values before entry. Such early information will induce screening of high-value bidders, and it will give rise to information rents and thereby a difference between the socially optimal auction and the auctioneer's preferred mechanism. Therefore, the auction designer has too weak an incentive to produce early information. Early information may increase or reduce equilibrium entry. If entry is sufficiently reduced, early information will harm the auction designer.     

The impact of e-business infusion on channel coordination, conflict and reseller performance

Manufacturer-reseller interactions are becoming more technology-enabled as channels of distribution increasingly utilize e-business tools on the Internet. This research examines the performance consequences for resellers as these technological advances are applied to distribution activities between channel members. Using a sample of 216 resellers of computer products, the research explores the impact of e-business tools in 2 areas of manufacturer-reseller interactions: supply tasks and demand tasks. The results suggest that e-business in supply tasks increases relationship coordination between manufacturer and reseller, whereas e-business in demand tasks increases coordination as well as conflict within the channel dyad. The increase of conflict constitutes a potential “dark side” of e-business in channel relationships that may provide an explanation for e-business implementation failures and negative returns on investment in technology.     

技术水平与技术利润贡献的实证研究

技术的发展是一个从稀缺到一般的过程,在这个过程中技术对利润的贡献是递减的。这样就产生了两个问题:不同生产性质的行业处于不同的技术发展阶段,其生产者对技术投资有不同的偏好;在同一生产性质的行业内部,不同技术水平的生产者对技术投资也有不同的偏好。反之,如果技术投资偏好是可以测量的,那么就可以根据不同行业的技术投资数据来实证该行业的技术发展阶段及其技术水平。本文对这两个偏好建立模型,并根据我国1996—2006年间18个代表行业的技术投资数据进行经验研究,分析这些行业的技术投资偏好和其所处的技术水平阶段,为我们制定产业政策提供理论依据。     

Corporate Governance and returns on information technology investment: evidence from an emerging market

Prior studies have reported mixed findings on the impact of corporate information technology (IT) investment on firm performance. This study investigates the effect of corporate governance, an important management control mechanism, on the relation between IT investment and firm performance in the Taiwanese electronics industry. Specifically, we explore board independence and foreign ownership, which have increasingly become salient factors concerning corporate governance in emerging markets. We address their roles across firms of different sizes and in industries where degrees of competitiveness run a wide gamut. Our results show a positive moderating effect of board independence on the IT investment‐firm performance relation, especially when competition intensifies. Furthermore, we find that the greater the foreign ownership in small firms, the more positive the IT investment‐firm performance relation, suggesting that foreign investors may bring IT expertise to help small firms reap the benefits of using IT. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Whole vs. shared ownership of foreign affiliates

This paper studies why multinational firms often share ownership of a foreign affiliate with a local partner even in the absence of government restrictions on ownership. We show that shared ownership may arise, if (i) the partner owns assets that are potentially important for the investment project, and (ii) the value of these assets is private information. In this context shared ownership acts as a screening device. Our model predicts that the multinational's ownership share is increasing in its productivity, with the most productive multinationals choosing not to rely on a foreign partner at all. This prediction is shown to be consistent with data on the ownership choices of Japanese multinationals.     

塑料薄膜柔性版印刷最佳混合加网技术研究

因传统调幅（AM）网点及调频（FM）网点在阶调表现上存在不足而产生了混合加网技术,即亮调区域和暗调区域使用FM网点、中间调使用AM网点。本研究为在柔性版印刷中获取最佳的混合网点组合配对,采用实验研究法,依据柯达Creo的Maxtone混合加网技术设计了11组不同的混合网点（FM-AM-FM）组合,利用柔性版印刷、混合加网技术及计算机直接制版技术在塑料薄膜上印刷导表,并进行测试。然后测量采用11组混合网点的印刷品之间质量特性的差异,经由统计分析得到FM-AM-FM阶调百分比优化组合为10%-75%-15%（0～10%为FM网点、10%～85%为AM网点、85%～100%为FM网点）。本研究结果将为柔性版印刷提供一个参考依据,既提升印刷质量又节省成本,并达到最高的顾客满意程度。     

Bundling, Competition and Quality Investment: A Welfare Analysis

We investigate how bundling affects investment in product quality, and derive welfare implications. A monopolist in a primary market competes with a rival in a complementary market. Bundling is the monopolist’s preferred strategy, since it either extracts surplus from the rival’s investment, or forces the rival to provide low quality. Bundling may reduce welfare without foreclosing the rival, but improves welfare when preventing undesirable investment. Since prohibiting bundling is not appropriate, we introduce a price test for bundled offers that preserves efficiencies from both bundling and quality investment, thereby improving welfare relative to the ‘do-nothing’ scenario. We consequently argue that this test should be applied whenever possible.     

A value-in-process analysis of relationship interactions in non-equity alliances

In the domain of relationship marketing, there is an increasing need for greater understanding of ‘value’ in the process of social exchange interactions. We present a framework for analysis of value creation through these interactions. Two types of value creating interaction are identified, asset specific investment and technical exchange. Taking a series of 197 project-based, non-equity alliances between architects and building contractors, we examine value creation through these interactions. The findings establish that value in the relationship process is co-created and that this occurs through an iterative investment in specific assets at the operational level throughout the alliance. Additionally, the exchange of technical information at the operational level is found to be a source of value for the relationship and has iterative and co-creational characteristics similar to investment in specific assets. We provide an explanation for the relationship between these interaction types and relational value. We also find that goodwill trust's positive relationship with the asset specific investment interaction type is stronger in low, rather than high, operational compatibility partnerships. The implications for researchers and managers are explored and study limitations acknowledged.     

DISCRETE VERSUS CONTINUOUS COMPOUNDING - A NOTE

R&;D projects generally involve multiple phases with or without overlapping. Moreover, the investment is usually made in a phased manner, with the commencement of the subsequent phase being dependent on the successful completion of the preceding phase. The aim of this article is to analyze the equilibrium strategies of two firms competing for a two-stage sequential R&;D investment, when a firm may infer a private signal from the strategy played by the other. Thus, firms must formulate their optimal strategies in a context of imperfect information. We evaluate the resulting compound option with information revelation as an American compound exchange option using Monte Carlo simulations. We then show that different equilibria may arise.     

浸没式超滤技术在电厂废水回用中的设计及应用

浸没式超滤技术是水处理行业中的一种创新应用形式。以东北某热电厂废水回用处理工程为实例,从进水水质、出水水质、投资成本、运行负荷及占地面积等方面进行综合分析,重点对浸没式超滤与压力式超滤工艺进行对比,证明了浸没式超滤技术的优势,最终确定了"絮凝沉淀+浸没式超滤+反渗透"的工艺流程。     

网络计划在建筑施工企业信息化建设投资管理中应用

建筑施丁企业的信息化（IT）建设是建筑业信息化建设的重要组成部分。以施工项目管理的特点为出发点，对建筑施工企业的IT建设投资管理模式提出了新的思考。新的IT投资管理模式结合施工项目管理的特点，引入了施土项目管理中常用的网络计划技术作为投资管理的主要工具，并进行了详细的案例研究，提出了建设期固定约束下资金管理模式，旨在为IT建设投资管理提供切实可行的管理模式，促进施工企业的信息化建设。     

Process reengineering: A review of enablers

In an attempt to improve productivity, performance and overall competitiveness in both domestic and global markets, organisations have realised that there is a need to reform their business practices and become more customer focused. Consequently, these organisations have recognised the need for organisational change, but do not necessarily know how and what to change, to achieve improvements in productivity and performance. Process reengineering has been described as the elixir for achieving dramatic improvements in production time and cost. Process reengineering is not about fixing current processes, but rebuilding them, with the aim of process improvement. This paper will explain what is meant by process reengineering and suggests that before an organisation attempts to process reengineer, a thorough understanding of current practices, procedures and enablers of change are required. Typically, information technology is implemented as the key change enabler of process reengineering implemented as the key enabler without prior consideration to other enablers such as organisational, human resource and total quality management. This paper suggests that the use of information technology as an enabler is rarely sufficient to cause process change. The paper concludes by suggesting that a combination of information technology, organisational and human resource enablers and a total quality management based philosophy are requisite for the effective redesign of business processes.     

Performance implications of using signaling and screening for expanding interfirm business networks: Evidence from franchising

Entrepreneurial business firms such as franchisors can enhance their network performance by attracting high-quality partners and preventing low-quality partners from joining the network. We draw on agency and transaction cost theories and the substantive literature on voluntary information disclosure to develop a theoretical framework that examines the consequences of using signaling and screening mechanisms for interfirm network performance. Our model posits a complementary effect for signaling and screening because of their ability to offset the disadvantages of each other. We empirically evaluate our hypotheses through econometric analyses of a unique multi-sector panel dataset from the U.S. franchising industry. We find that ex-ante signaling and screening at the contractual relationship formation stage are complementary mechanisms that enhance network performance when they are used together. Additionally, we find that specific investments by the focal firm and by the partners positively moderate the performance impact of screening and signaling respectively. Our findings suggest that the joint use of screening and signaling and their synchronization with specific investment commitments from each side can assist an entrepreneurial business network in mitigating the double-sided adverse selection problem at the formation stage of dyadic network partnerships and enhancing network performance.