On the design of cooperative vendors’ networks in retail food supply chains: a logistics-driven approach

This paper explores the impact of the adoption of a cooperative approach on retail food supply chains, whose performances are strongly affected by the daily planning of deliveries from vendors. This approach requires a horizontal communication among vendors, and might result in minimising the overall transport costs. Nevertheless, the proper trade-off between costs and return is hard to be foreseen. Building on existing studies, this paper investigates the benefits and the opportunities deriving from the vendors’ collaboration on the delivery process. We provide a decision support tool using an integer linear programming model to explore in a what-if multi-scenario analysis the trade-off between competitive and cooperative delivery regimes. The distribution of order release and fleet availability couple with the geography of the network, allowing for the identification of thresholds of mutual convenience in shifting from a competitive to a cooperative regime. Our methodology, applied to a case study from a regional retailer supply chain, highlights evident benefits, which are sometimes up to 40% of the overall costs, for the retailer, the carriers, and the vendors. Furthermore, accounting for those costs, the tool identifies, for a given supply chain, who actually gains from the collaboration and what those gains are.     

On the exact distribution of the Fisher-Behren’-Welch statistic

Summary For testing the significance of the difference between the unknown means of two normal populations having different unknown variances, we have the known Fisher-Behren’s-Welch test statistic. Several expressions for the distribution of this test statistic are available, and this paper is yet another attempt in the same direction. However, the expression given here appears to be, perhaps, more elegant and straight-forward than the ones available at present.     

Analysing the lobby-effect of port competitiveness’ determinants: a stochastic frontier approach

Building upon a formerly performed study on port competitiveness, this article discusses the use of a stochastic frontier model as an interesting novel use to test, identify and correct respondents’ bias by applying it to competitiveness analysis based on perceptions of senior executives. Measuring the importance of competition determinants of seaports, conventionally analyzed using a SWOT-analysis based on (transport) infrastructure as a prime requirement for port activity growth, is an important issue to port management. However, it seems that the “institutional” environment of a seaport is also critical in obtaining a competitive advantage. In Haezendonck et al. (2000 and 2001) those port specific advantages and disadvantages were identified using factor analysis and L1-regression on the perceptions of 75 respondents, all senior executives and experts, through a survey. As regards the results of this study, critiques were formulated on the use of perceptions, often biased due to the political lobbying potential of the results. Since respondents often see independent studies as an opportunity to obtain more or early government subsidies, attract new investment projects or at least highlight the attention on their specific problems and demands, they were prone to underestimating the positive impact of the key success factors of the studied seaport compared to its main rivals, in this case major seaports in the so-called Hamburg–Le Havre competitive range. The purpose of this article is to test the assumption that respondents significantly underestimate the positive impact of port specific advantages and to see which of the respondent subgroups within the 75 respondents sample are more responsible than others for this underestimation. In addition, we argue and demonstrate that the use of a stochastic frontier method is appropriate for this matter. Each of 25 considered competition determinants of the original study is decomposed into a noise and “efficiency” term, based on the Bayesian stochastic frontier model (BSFM). In this article, we find evidence that BSFM could be used to test the “lobby-effect” or underestimation of the real effect of determinants, that terminal operators as a subgroup of respondents, are more likely to underestimate the key success factors than the subgroup of port experts and that those determinants that are directly related to government action show more underestimation than competitiveness determinants that result from private investments.     

On the different styles of large shareholders’ activism

This paper extends Noe’s (Rev Financial Studies 15:289–317, 2002) model of large shareholder activism in two directions. First, it considers a framework in which large shareholders can choose not only when to monitor, but also how intensively they want to monitor the firm. Second, it considers the impact of laws and regulations by introducing a governance quality parameter that makes monitoring more cost effective. The model yields a new and rich characterization of activism. We find that share wealth (ownership concentration) induces monitoring for higher firm value through more frequent monitoring with unchanged intensity. Cash wealth motivates activism for trading gains, not higher firm value, through less frequent monitoring coupled with higher intensity. We also find that better governance leads to higher firm value through more frequent but less intense activism. When asymmetries within the group of large shareholders exist, the model predicts that the larger/wealthier/more efficient shareholders are more active. These results are broadly consistent with the empirical evidence.     

On the financial balance of input–output constructs: revisiting an axiomatic evaluation

Financial balance is fundamental to input–output (IO) analysis, and consequently the respect of this balance is one of the dominant criteria in evaluating IO constructs. Kop Jansen, and ten Raa [(1990) The Choice of Model in the Construction of Input–Output Coefficients Matrices. International Economic Review 31, 213] proved that the byproduct-technology construct (BTC) and the industry-technology construct (ITC) do not generally conserve financial balance. In contrast, Majeau-Bettez et al. [(2016) When do Allocations and Constructs Respect Material, Energy, Financial, and Production Balances in LCA and EEIO? Journal of Industrial Ecology 20, 67–84] demonstrated that the BTC necessarily respects financial balance and that the ITC is always financially balanced when applied to data recorded in monetary units. The present article resolves this paradox.     

A new US definition of ‘Minority Business’: lessons from the first four years

The purpose of this paper is to discuss current definitional issues regarding minority business in the USA and the policy-oriented implications of these issues with regard to European ethnic minority enterprise.

After an introductory discussion of the concept of ‘minority business’ and related terminology, this paper then examines a major change in the definition of such businesses made by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), the principal link between large US corporations and the minority business community. In line with US government minority assistance programme requirements, a ‘minority business’ previously had to be at least 51% minority-owned. Under the new NMSDC policy, a firm can have as little as 30% minority ownership and still be eligible for corporate minority-targeted contracts. This paper explains this re-definition and discusses the experiences of the first four years of this new policy and the lessons and implications for the USA. The discussion is then extended to the European context – the rise of immigration and the related increase in ethnic minority business enterprises, the current nature of public policy toward such enterprises in terms of programmes and legislation, and the implications of the US experience for Europe. Finally, future issues with regard to European ethnic minority enterprise are raised, along with areas for future research focus.     

Validating an agent-based model of the Zipf׳s Law: A discrete Markov-chain approach

This study discusses the validation of an agent-based model of emergent city systems with heterogeneous agents. To this end, it proposes a simplified version of the original agent-based model and subjects it to mathematical analysis. The proposed model is transformed into an analytically tractable discrete Markov model, and its city size distribution is examined. Its discrete nature allows the Markov model to be used to validate the algorithms of computational agent-based models. We show that the Markov chains lead to a power-law distribution when the ranges of migration options are randomly distributed across the agent population. We also identify sufficient conditions under which the Markov chains produce the Zipf׳s Law, which has never been done within a discrete framework. The conditions under which our simplified model yields the Zipf׳s Law are in agreement with, and thus validate, the configurations of the original heterogeneous agent-based model.     

Dimensional effects of Korean SME’s entrepreneurial orientation on internationalization and performance: the mediating role of marketing capability

This study examines how three different dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (proactiveness, innovativeness, and risk-taking) each determine internationalization strategies and enhance international performance among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the mediating role of marketing capabilities. An integrative theoretical framework built on international entrepreneurship and a resource-based approach was tested in the context of Korean SMEs. Analyses of 401 survey data collected from Korean exporting SMEs revealed the differential effects of each entrepreneurial orientation and the mediating effect of marketing capability on internationalization strategies and performance. Proactiveness and risk taking appeared to function as significant antecedents of marketing capability. Marketing capability, in turn, significantly decreased internationalization scope and increased the financial performance of Korean SMEs, though it did not influence internationalization scale. This study further confirms that the mediating role of marketing capability in entrepreneurial orientation-performance relationships vary by entrepreneurial orientation dimensions. Taking the direct and indirect roles of the entrepreneurial orientation dimensions together, this study recommends the critical prioritization of risk-taking over proactiveness. It extends previous approaches to the triad of resource–capability–performance. Theoretical contributions and insightful managerial implications are also provided.     

On the phenomenology of technology: the “Janus-faces” of mobile phones

This paper argues that technologies perform in Janus faced ways; that is, in ways that are ironic, perverse and paradoxical, and it is argued that these qualities are important to apprehend if we are to more fully understand the role of technology in organizations and in our daily lives.The argument opens with an account of Janus as a metaphorical evocation of irony and paradox, and general examples of Janus faced technologies are given. Prominent philosophies of technology and theoretical approaches to technology are discussed in terms of their capacity to account for generalized examples of irony and paradox. Of these, it is argued that the most satisfactory account is provided by (a) Heidegger’s suggestion that our world is enframed by technology, taken together with (b) a logic of sociotechnical systems based in relational and hybrid ontologies. This sketch of the philosophical landscape occupied by Janus is followed by a interpretation of the specific case of mobile phones, which provides concrete and hopefully vivid examples of the Janus faced performance of technology.The conclusion reached is that the Janus faced metaphor and its philosophical context provides the researcher with the analytic advantages of foregrounding uncertainty, avoiding an essentialist or determinist role for technology, and allowing for the possibility of the presence of tension and contradiction in accounts of sociotechnical outcomes.     

On the distribution of the desirability index using Harrington’s desirability function

The concept of desirability is a means for complexity reduction of multivariate quality optimization. This paper provides a theoretical breakthrough regarding desirability indices, which application fields were formerly limited primarily by the lack of its distribution. Focussed are the distributions of Harrington’s desirability functions and different types of the desirability index.     

On the determinant of bank loan contracts: The roles of borrowers’ ownership and board structures

Given the worldwide economic importance of bank loan financing, we empirically investigate the roles of borrowers’ ownership and board structure in bank loan terms through a comprehensive dataset, which includes the complete history of individual bank loan contracts for firms publicly listed in the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE). We find that firms with smaller deviation in shareholder voting and cash flow rights, larger non-retail shareholding, fewer shares pledged by the board of directors, independent directors, and firms without dual boards are more likely to borrow from banks at lower spread. In addition, good governance practices are also associated with larger loan size or longer loan period, suggesting that banks take into account borrowers’ governance practices when designing loan contracts. This fact is consistent with the agency cost and information risk explanations of Bhojraj and Sengupta (2003). Furthermore, this study uncovers that the beneficial effect of good governance practices on bank loan contracting is more pronounced in borrowers with high leverage and poor rating, which implies that the monitoring role of governance is more crucial in risky firms. Our findings are robust to the various characteristics of firms and loans.     

Gauging the uncertainty of the economic outlook using historical forecasting errors: The Federal Reserve’s approach

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the U.S. Federal Reserve regularly publishes participants’ qualitative assessments of forecast uncertainty, expressed relative to that seen on average in the past. The benchmarks used for these historical comparisons are the average root mean squared forecast errors (RMSEs) made by various private and government forecasters over the past twenty years. This paper documents how these benchmarks are constructed and discusses some of their properties. We draw several conclusions. First, if past performance is a reasonable guide to future accuracy, considerable uncertainty surrounds macroeconomic projections. Second, different forecasters have similar accuracy. Third, estimates of uncertainty about future real activity and interest rates are now considerably greater than prior to the financial crisis; in contrast, estimates of inflation accuracy have changed little. Finally, fan charts, constructed under certain assumptions and viewed in conjunction with the FOMC’s qualitative assessments, provide a reasonable approximation to future uncertainty.     

Aligning ERP systems with companies’ real needs: an ‘Operational Model Based’ method

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems offer standard functionalities that have to be configured and customised by a specific company depending on its own requirements. A consistent alignment is therefore an essential success factor of ERP projects. To manage this alignment, an ‘Operational Model Based’ method is proposed. It is based on the design and the matching of models, and conforms to the modelling views and constructs of the ISO 19439 and 19440 enterprise-modelling standards. It is characterised by: (1) a predefined design and matching order of the models; (2) the formalisation, in terms of modelling constructs, of alignment and misalignment situations; and (3) their association with a set of decisions in order to mitigate the misalignment risk. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of the alignment management during ERP projects is given. Unlike existing methods, this one includes decisions related to the organisational changes an ERP system can induce, as well as criteria on which the best decision can be based. In this way, it provides effective support and guidance to companies implementing ERP systems, as the alignment process is detailed and structured. The method is applied on the ERP project of a Small and Medium Enterprise, showing that it can be used even in contexts where the ERP project expertise level is low.     

‘We have never been Post-modern’: On the Search of Management Accounting Theory

This paper considers the value that aldermen in Dutch municipalities, who are elected politicians, attach to quantitative output information. The paper especially focuses on the way in which aldermen evaluate the performances of their professional top managers. In the paper the Hopwood evaluation styles, which originally refer to the private sector, are further developed for the public sector. Exploratory field research was conducted in the municipalities of Groningen, Leeuwarden and The Hague. The research shows that the aldermen paid much attention to a manager's activities and the organization's operations and relatively little to outputs. Aldermen did not use an ‘output-constrained’ or an ‘outcome-conscious’ evaluation style. Rather, most of the politicians evaluated the performances of their top managers in a style that is here called an ‘operations-conscious style’. This evaluation style focuses on the activities of managers and the processes of their organization. Quantitative output information plays some part in this evaluation style, but the main question is whether a manager acts as a good ‘facilitator’, i.e. ensures that his organization is functioning well. Besides, important criteria are the way in which a manager deals with short-term problems and with the politicians' opinions and personal wishes.     

Letter to the Editor: ‘On Quantile-based Asymmetric Family of Distributions: Properties and Inference’

We show that the family of asymmetric distributions studied in a recent publication in the International Statistical Review is equivalent to the family of two-piece distributions. Moreover, we show that the location-scale asymmetric family proposed in that publication is non-identifiable (overparameterised), and it coincides with the family of two-piece distributions after removing the redundant parameters.     

Trust in the supervisor and the development of employees’ social capital during organizational entry: a conservation of resources approach

Abstract

This article aims to understand how trust in the supervisor contributes to the development of employees’ social capital using Conservation of Resources theory as a theoretical framework and networking ability as an indicator of social capital development. We hypothesize that the relationship between newcomers’ trust in the supervisor and networking ability will be mediated by feedback seeking from the supervisor and moderated by emotional exhaustion. Based on a three-wave time-lagged study of newcomers (N = 224), we found trust in the supervisor to be indirectly and positively related to networking ability through the mediating influence of feedback seeking from the supervisor. In addition, feedback seeking interacted with emotional exhaustion in predicting networking ability such that it was more positively related to it at high levels of emotional exhaustion. The indirect relationship of trust to networking ability as mediated by feedback seeking was also stronger at high levels of emotional exhaustion. We discuss this study’s implications for our understanding of supervisors’ role and newcomers’ experience during entry, as well as for social capital research.     

Harsanyi’s theorem without the sure-thing principle: On the consistent aggregation of Monotonic Bernoullian and Archimedean preferences

This paper studies the extension of Harsanyi’s theorem (Harsanyi, 1955) in a framework involving uncertainty. It seeks to extend the aggregation result to a wide class of Monotonic Bernoullian and Archimedean preferences (Cerreia-Vioglio et al., 2011) that subsumes many models of choice under uncertainty proposed in the literature. An impossibility result is obtained, unless we are in the specific framework where all individuals and the social observer are subjective expected utility maximizers sharing the same beliefs. This implies that non-expected utility preferences cannot be aggregated consistently.     

A Point Processes approach to bicycle sharing systems’ design and management

Public bicycle systems have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. The success of this service heavily depends on the topology of the city and on the locations of bike stations in relation to potential demand. In fact, it is primarily important that users find bike stations in convenient locations, sufficiently close both to the origins of their trips and to their destinations, and that each rental station guarantees the availability both of enough bicycles and of enough empty docking slots.This paper proposes a point processes approach to the study of bike-sharing systems, allowing us to quantify and control parameters having a key role in decisions both of strategic and operational type.Differently from previous studies, the point processes approach catches both the interdependence among the stations and the links between spatial and time aspects of the problem.The application of point processes, in particular spatial mixed Poisson processes, to this field requires the statement and proof of an invariance property of such processes under stochastic dependent transformations, that may be of interest also from a theoretical point of view.