Linkage Measures: a Revisit and a Suggested Alternative

This paper examines major linkage measures in the literature from different perspectives and attempts to clarify some of the controversies over them. The examination and clarification suggest more refined backward and forward linkage measures for linkage indices construction. The measures are then applied to analyse the linkages of Hawaii’s agriculture sectors.     

疏浚工程的代理风险及其防范研究

在疏浚工程特别是大型疏浚工程中,委托代理风险及其控制与防范问题一直是工作中的重点和难点之一。本文对疏浚工程中委托代理风险的内涵和特点进行了分析,并给出了相应的风险防范与控制措施,对实际工作有一定的指导意义。     

Performance Measures in Dose-Finding Experiments

In the first phase of pharmaceutical development, and assuming that the probability of positive response increases with dose, the main statistical goal is to estimate a percentile of the dose–response function for a given target value $\mathrm{\Gamma }$. We compare the Maximum Likelihood and centred isotonic regression estimators of the target dose and we discuss several performance criteria to assess inferential precision, the amount of toxicity exposure and the trade-off between them for a set of some exemplary adaptive designs. We compare these designs using graphical tools. Several scenarios are considered using simulation, including the use of several start-up rules, the change of slope of the dose-toxicity function at the target dose and also different theoretical models, as logistic, normal or skew-normal distribution functions.     

Headquarter Reliance on Accounting Performance Measures in a Multinational Context

Headquarter (HQ) reliance on accounting performance measures (APMs) is studied in a European multinational organization. European MNCs typically manage their foreign operations as a portfolio of relatively independent national businesses (Bartlett and Goshal, 1989). In line with previous work on APMs in a limited country setting (Govindarajan, 1984; Brownell, 1987), the HQ relies less on APMs in monitoring domestic units that face environmental instability. However, in the case of geographically dispersed foreign subsidiaries, the HQ emphasizes APMs more when dynamism increases. The financial control pattern towards foreign subsidiaries is similar to Egelhof s (1988) findings in a broad sample of MNCs. This contrasting result is consistent with the greater cost and difficulty of using information-intensive alternatives to APMs for units that are geographically and culturally distant from the HQ. There is no indication that tight APM-based management would have a negative impact on work conditions of managers facing instability, but foreign managers find it more difficult to accept the evaluative framework if high reliance is placed on APMs when their environment is dynamic.     

具有时间柔性的动态数量弹性契约模型

随着市场竞争的日益激烈,供应链结点合作程度的提高,结点企业的市场预测结果对供应链其它结点的影响也越来越大,而预测时间是影响预测结果的重要因素之一,对供应双方绩效起着至关重要的作用。针对数量弹性契约必然存在一个修改预测间隔期的特点,结合预测间隔时间和预测精度的关系,提出一种考虑具有时间柔性的动态弹性数量模型,假设预测精度和转移价格随时间线性变化,分析销售商利润得出必然存在最优值的结论;而供应商相比常规数量弹性契约减少生产过剩导致的损耗,绩效也有一定程度的改善。从供求双方绩效改善状况入手,分析双方实施模型的可能性。同时通过给出数值算例,进一步介绍了模型及其求解思路。     

Target Costing Performance Based on Alternative Participation and Evaluation Methods: A Laboratory Experiment

This paper deals with the motivational impacts of alternative participation and performance-evaluation methods on the cost- reduction performance of product designers in the product development process. Alternative participation methods for establishing the target cost consist of the participative and the nonparticipative approaches. Also, the alternative performance-evaluation methods include evaluations based on only the controllable item measure and on both controllable and uncontrollable items measures. To test the hypothesis which are proposed with respect to the above impacts, a laboratory experiment was conducted on 120 subjects. When participation and performance evaluation factors are considered separately, the cost-reduction performance of product designers is improved if they can participate in the target-setting process and are evaluated by their controllable item information. In investigating their joint influence, it is found that the combination of the participative method and controllable item and nonparticipative and uncontrollable item information have improved cost-reduction performance. Among all the independent variables, controllable item information is the most dominant variable as it has the strongest influence on cost reduction. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organization Promises in the Triangular Psychological Contract as Perceived by Temporary Agency Workers,Agencies, and Client Organizations

Temporary agency blue-collar workers (N = 100), the agencies through which they were hired (N = 12), and the client organizations to which they were assigned to work (N = 11) reported their perceptions on the content and the fulfillment or breach of organization promises within the psychological contract. All data were collected in Belgium through a survey from fall 2002 through spring 2003.Nonparametric tests and t-tests indicated similarity rather than discrepancy in the parties’ perceptions. Fulfillment of the psychological contract was the case rather than breach. When focusing on differences, agencies and client organizations perceived more promises made than their temporaries did. Agencies and client organizations had more favorable perceptions of their promises kept than their temporaries did. The temporaries perceived more promises made by their agencies than by their client organizations.     

浅谈履约抗辩权在建设工程施工合同管理中的应用

在整个建设工程施工合同管理过程中,许多施工企业不善于及时行驶法律赋予的抗辩权,对法律履约抗辩权的规定也不了解,在司法实践中常处于被动的局面,甚至付出了惨痛的代价。本文主要对目前我国建设工程履约抗辩权的法律规定进行了解读,并提出了施工企业有效行使履约抗辩权维护自身合理权益的相关建议。     

Human Capital Intangibles and Performance of Franchise Networks: A Complementary View between Agency and Critical Resource Perspectives

This article examines the impact of human capital intangibles on the governance structure of franchise networks (i.e., proportion of franchised outlets) and the joint impact of human capital intangibles and governance on the performance of franchisors. Agency theory focuses on the free‐riding hazard and the costs associated with franchising in the context of high human capital intangibles. The critical resources theory highlights the weakness of company ownership and the advantages of using franchising in this context. Tests of the hypotheses derived from these theoretical frameworks indicate that these complementarily explain the governance structure and financial performance of franchise networks. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Agency Problems in Diverse Contexts: A Global Perspective

abstract    Bruce, Buck and Main (2005 ) offer two criticisms of agency theory as a valid model of executive behaviour. First, they suggest that because researchers have failed to find a strong empirical link between executive pay and firm performance, and since this research generally rests on models derived from agency theory, then we must question the theory. Second, they suggest that agency theory is under-socialized and therefore lacks generalizability to settings where social solutions would seem to eliminate the agency problem. In our response we make three points. First, agency theory rests on an assumption of self-interest that does not necessarily reflect opportunism. Second, agency theory does not make any reference to pay-performance sensitivity, and the failure of this research can be attributable to a variety of problems with the research. Third, we agree that agency theory does not explicitly recognize contextual factors, but suggest that this abstraction from context, gives agency theory greater generalizability. Finally, we review the UK and German contexts discussed by Bruce, Buck and Main to show that socialized solutions do not prevent the occurrence of agency problems.     

上市公司代理成本与企业绩效关系研究——来自金融类上市公司证据

我国企业存在的代理问题主要表现为高管人员在获得高额薪酬的同时还会职务消费。本文以委托代理理论为基础,基于2001年至2007年的金融类A股上市公司数据,对高管代理成本与企业绩效的相关性进行了实证检验,结果显示:我国金融类上市公司职务消费不能对企业盈利能力、规模产生显著影响,高管薪酬激励能显著提高企业规模,但对企业盈利能力提高不显著。     

Periodical Preventive-Maintenance Contract for a Leased Facility with Weibull Life-Time

This paper develops a mathematical model to derive the optimal periodical preventive maintenance (PM) policy for a leased facility with Weibull life-time. Within a lease period, any failures of the facility are rectified by minimal repairs and a penalty may occur to the lessor when the time required to perform a minimal repair exceeds a reasonable time limit. To reduce failures of the facility, additional PM actions are carried out periodically during the lease period. When the life-time distribution of a product is Weibull, the optimal number of PM actions and the corresponding maintenance degrees are derived such that the expected total maintenance cost is minimized. The structural properties of the optimal policy are investigated and an efficient algorithm is provided to search for the optimal policy. Finally, numerical examples are provided to illustrate the features of the proposed model.     

On the Use of Nonfinancial Performance Measures in Management Compensation

It is often claimed that (i) managers work too hard on operational issues and do not spend enough effort on strategic activities, and (ii) something can be done about this by introducing nonfinancial performance measures, as for instance with a balanced scorecard. We give an explanation for both claims in a formal model. The distortion toward operational effort arises because with financial performance measures strategic effort can only be rewarded in the future. But renegotiation-proof long-term compensation plans entail too weak variable components in the future. This problem can be reduced by introducing performance measures that help to disentangle strategic and operational effects.     

中国电信产业管制机构与反垄断机构的协调博弈分析

随着中国电信产业竞争程度的不断提高,反垄断机构对电信产业的介入将逐渐加强,从而使电信产业管制机构与反垄断机构的协调问题逐渐凸显。本文引入协调博弈的分析方法,通过构建两类机构的协调博弈模型,对直接影响协调成功的策略互补性进行了描述,分析了协调失败的原因及其改进方法。在此基础上,本文得出了加强策略互补性的动力机制,最后提出了促进两类机构协调的政策建议。     

Price and Quantity Contracts in a Mixed Duopoly with a Socially Concerned Firm

I study the endogenous choice of a price or quantity contract in a mixed duopoly with a socially concerned firm, which maximizes a combination of profit and consumer welfare. Equilibria with price and quantity contracts might co‐exist; welfare under price competition might be lower than under quantity competition; the firms' profit ranking might be different from that of a private duopoly or mixed duopoly with a public firm. Hence, if a firm follows a social strategy, the optimal market strategy crucially depends on the levels of social concern and competition in the market. The presence of socially concerned firms may change the mode of competition. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contract equilibria in a regulated rental housing market

Various contractual equilibrium concepts for a regulated rental housing market are studied in this paper. Regulation refers to rental contracts with institutionally prescribed structures and rental prices, a situation common for housing markets with restrictive rental protection legislation. Contracts can then be considered as indivisible commodities with certain unusual characteristics. Existence of equilibria of the various types is shown under rather weak assumptions.     

Disclosure Policy in a Mixed Market

This paper investigates the optimal disclosure strategy for private information in a mixed duopoly market, where a state-owned enterprise (SOE) and a joint-stock company compete to supply products. I construct a model where the two firms compete in either quantity or price, and uncertainty is associated with either marginal cost or market demand. The model identifies the optimal disclosure strategies that constitute a perfect Bayesian equilibrium by type of competition and uncertainty. In Cournot competition, both firms disclose information under cost uncertainty, while only the SOE or neither firm discloses information under demand uncertainty. Alternatively, in Bertrand competition, only the joint-stock company discloses information under cost uncertainty or demand uncertainty. Recently, developed countries have required the same level of disclosure standards for SOEs as for ordinary joint-stock companies. The findings described in this paper warn that such mandatory disclosure by SOEs can trigger a reaction by joint-stock companies, putting the economy at risk of a reduction in welfare.     

公司治理中的预算管理:一种契约观

本文从契约的角度分析预算管理在公司治理中的作用。首先分析预算管理的契约性,然后从企业预算目标、利润观预算和预算松弛三方面探讨公司治理中的预算问题。     

Member Coordination Costs and Spatial Entry Deterrence in a Mixed Duopsony with a Cooperative

This paper investigates cooperative spatial entry deterrence. To this end, it employs a dynamic game where an investor-owned firm (IOF) competes with a farmers’ processing cooperative which incurs a fixed coordination cost per member. The results indicate that as the value of coordination cost per member increases or the processing margin rises, it becomes more likely for the IOF to use cooperative limit pricing, that is, to deter the cooperative’s market entry. The opposite is true for an increase in the freight rate.