An approach for measuring the optimal fleet capacity: Evidence from the container shipping lines in Taiwan

Excess capacity emerges as a persistent problem in the shipping industry and plays an essential role in determining the level of ocean freight. Consequently, the optimal fleet capacity has become a critical and frequently discussed issue within the container shipping industry. In practice, the designed capacity of a vessel is the most popular approach for measuring the fleet capacity for a shipping line. Despite this, it continues to lack the operational and economical reasonableness necessary to properly define or measure the capacity provided by a shipping line. This study has developed an economic model to find the optimal fleet capacity. In turn, the corresponding installation ratios have been computed to examine the level of excess capacity present and evaluate the performance of fleet development for three container shipping lines in Taiwan. The findings suggest that the shipping lines with deep-sea service routes are likely to deliberately hold excess capacity. Thus, the strategy of holding excess capacity to deter entry and maintain market power may have implicitly played a crucial role in determining the scale of fleet capacity for a container shipping line.     

A CDS approach to induce facilities-based competition over NGA networks

The current regulatory framework in the European NGA market provides the basic principles for the gradual migration from service-based competition over the legacy copper access networks to facilities-based competition over fiber-based Next Generation Access (NGA) networks. This paper initially reviews the related literature and shows that: (i) an unbundling policy that boosts entry by alternative operators promotes service-based competition but provides operators with disincentives to invest in network upgrade; (ii) there is no consensus about the optimal regulatory policy that promotes competition and encourages investments in NGA networks; and (iii) the reviewed research articles are not consistent with the current regulatory framework in the European NGA market in terms of both the evolution of the regulatory goals over time and the recommended regulatory settings. This paper aims to propose a novel approach in order to effectively meet the current regulatory goals using the recommended settings. It is shown that the proposed approach, which is based on the basic principles governing a Credit Default Swap (CDS), provides an effective migration path towards facilities-based competition over NGA networks.     

The erosion of employment in the UK; the need for a new response

There has been much speculation about the future of work in moods ranging from euphoria to prophecies of doom. This article attempts to outline the undercurrents of change which will determine the reality behind this debate. It is based on analyses conducted for Work and Society, The Other Economic Summit and the Society for International Development.     

The uniform distribution as a first practical approach to new product inventory management

It is common sense that the premises usually considered in inventory models have little applicability to new product inventory management. This paper develops a first practical approach to deal with this issue: the solution to the (Q, r) inventory model for uniform demand forecasts and lead-times. Based on the fact that the uniform distribution is defined by two parameters that are easy to estimate—maximum and minimum—this paper shows that such a premise may comprise a helpful and accurate decision support tool for managers until they begin to learn about the distribution characteristics of the demand during the lead-time.     

Stakeholder theory and practice in Europe and North America: The key to success lies in a marketing approach

Corporate reputation in Europe and North America is increasingly seen as a function of how firms treat their stakeholders. In the United States, stakeholder theory has been touted as a paradigm of good management; yet despite enlightened stakeholder practice at home, US firms continue to run into problems in Europe. Wal-Mart, Microsoft, and GE have, in one way or another, all been caught off guard when doing business in Europe. This paper suggests that some of the stakeholder relations difficulties encountered by US corporations in Europe can be explained by fundamental cultural and philosophical differences between these regions that affect how stakeholders are viewed and how relations with those groups are managed. In this paper, we examine the historical and socio-political forces influencing stakeholder theory in the US and northern Europe and then use a business-to-business marketing approach to show how US firms might develop an approach to stakeholder relations that fits the northern European environment.