Hedging and the competitive firm under correlated price and background risk

This paper examines the behavior of the competitive firm under correlated price and background risk when a futures market exists for hedging purposes. We show that imposing the background risk, be it additive or multiplicative, on the firm has no effect on the separation theorem. The full-hedging theorem, however, holds if the background risk is independent of the price risk. In the general case of the correlated price and background risk, we adopt the concept of expectation dependence to describe the bivariate dependence structure. When the background risk is additive, the firm finds it optimal to opt for an over-hedge or an under-hedge, depending on whether the price risk is positively or negatively expectation dependent on the background risk, respectively. When the background risk is multiplicative, both the concept of expectation dependence and the Arrow–Pratt measure of relative risk aversion are called for to determine the firm’s optimal futures position.     

Efficiencies of Rounded Optimal Approximate Designs for Small Samples

Optimal exact designs are notoriously hard to study and only a few of them are known for polynomial models. Using recently obtained optimal exact designs (I mhof , 1997), we show that the efficiency of the frequently used rounded optimal approximate designs can be sensitive if the sample size is small. For some criteria, the efficiency of the rounded optimal approximate design can vary by as much as 25% when the sample size is changed by one unit. The paper also discusses lower efficiency bounds and shows that they are sometimes the best possible bounds for the rounded optimal approximate designs.     

仓库火灾的特点及预防措施

介绍了仓库火灾的分类和特点，以及引起仓库火灾的原因，提出了有效预防仓库火灾的基本措施。     

Elucidating the Relationship Between Satisfaction and Citizen Involvement in Public Administration

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationships between public administration satisfaction (PAS), political efficacy (PE), and active citizen involvement (ACI). The study group consists of 345 respondents residing in Taiwan. Respondents are interviewed by phone to obtain their perceptions regarding local municipality operations (i.e. professionalism and sympathy (PS), ambition to improve (AI), neutrality and morality (NM)), PAS, ACI, and PE). These relationships are verified by conducting path analysis. Results of this study demonstrate that AI and NM positively affect PAS, that PAS positively affects PE and ACI, and that PE plays a mediating role in the relationship between PAS and ACI.     

What affects the extent of business process management implementation? An empirical study of Malaysia’s manufacturing organizations

This study seeks to examine the factors that affect the extent of Business Process Management (BPM) among manufacturing firms in Malaysia. The factors comprised of internal and external drivers. Data was gathered from a survey of 200 manufacturing companies of which 59 respondents participated in this study. Our statistical results indicate that business environment is the key driver that affects the extent of BPM implementation, followed by organization strategy. The findings provide insight to managers that business environment, organization strategy and BPM programs are closely linked. To promote the adoption of BPM in Malaysia, these critical drivers should be emphasized.     

Understanding and Managing International Product Launch: A Comparison between Developed and Emerging Markets

With the developed market becoming increasingly saturated, companies have turned to the rapidly growing emerging market. To compete effectively in the global marketplace, firms need to develop global market competences, such as effective product launch. Although considerable efforts have been devoted to identifying principles of effective new product launch, most of the literature focuses on a single country (i.e., the domestic market) and provides little direct cross‐national comparison. The objective of this study is to provide a better understanding of the patterns of effective product launch in the developed and emerging markets. Drawing from the contingency perceptive, the authors propose a conceptual model that emphasizes the central role of tactical launch decisions and the need to cope with the internal and external constraints for maximum new product performance. The research model is tested on 284 new products launched in the United States and 97 in Taiwan. Although prior literature suggested certain elements of global product launch may be standardized for purposes of efficiencies, the empirical data from this study suggests that global launch requires some degree of customization. The insights of the findings reveal that while some tactical launch decisions are effective for both emerging and mature markets, some are detrimental to each other. For example, customer education preannouncement and promotion discount pricing strategy enhance new product performance and preemption preannouncement strategy upset consumers for both the Taiwan and U.S. market. However, there are some cross‐national differences. Emotional advertising strategy is generally appreciated in the U.S. market but not in the Taiwan market. For management practice, the findings suggest the distinct patterns of effective product launch for the emerging and mature market using the United States and Taiwan as examples.     

Bundling digitized logistics activities and its performance implications

Bundling information technology (IT) applications to support logistics activities provides a means for firms to improve their logistics performance. Grounded in the logistics management and management information systems literature, as well as the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, this study empirically: (i) investigates if there exist digitized logistics activities bundles in firms; and if so, (ii) explores the association between digitized logistics activities bundles and logistics performance of firms in terms of logistics cost and logistics service improvements. We surveyed 227 trading firms in Hong Kong and performed a factor analysis of the survey data, from which we identified three digitized logistics activities bundles and found the sample firms were clustered into four types based on the patterns of their digitized logistics activities. We then carried out a MANOVA on the data, the results of which show that different patterns of digitizing logistics activities are associated with different logistics performance outcomes. Specifically, firms with more extensive digitized logistics activities bundles and utilizing them more intensively achieve better logistics performance. Academic and managerial implications for digitizing logistics activities to improve logistics performance are discussed.     

The emergence of small transnational enterprise in Vancouver: the case of Chinese entrepreneur immigrants

This article examines the small transnational enterprises of recent Chinese entrepreneur immigrants to Vancouver, Canada. These enterprises are part of the globalization process and contribute to the economic and cultural integration of certain regions of Asia with large urban areas of Canada. The entrepreneurs are analyzed utilizing a transnationalism framework which is situated in the ethnic enterprise literature. The article explains how these transnational small Chinese businesses are different from the businesses of earlier Chinese in Canada. A detailed analysis of the Canadian Business Immigration Program illustrates how and why small Chinese transnational enterprises have emerged. The primary data comes from extensive in–depth interviews with 61 Chinese entrepreneur immigrants that allows for the delineation of three transnational business types: (1) Asian production–North American distribution, (2) retail chains and (3) import–export. Quantitative data illustrate the major differences between ‘transnational’ and ‘non–transnational’ enterprises along several variables. Other qualitative data provide insights on how family networks are interwoven with firm relations in small transnational businesses, how entrepreneurs perceive interethnic relations and the extent to which they experience barriers to mobility. Evidence is provided of extensive transmigration and, in contrast to the sojourner identity of earlier Chinese, the data here suggests the emergence of a new transnational and cosmopolitan identity amongst entrepreneur immigrants. Cet article étudie les petites entreprises transnationales des récents immigrants chinois de Vancouver (Canada). Celles–ci s’inscrivent dans le processus de mondialisation et contribuent à l’intégration économique et culturelle de certaines régions d’Asie dans d’importantes zones urbaines canadiennes. L’analyse de ces créateurs d’entreprise est faite à partir d’un cadre d’analyse transnationaliste qui se situe dans la littérature sur l’entreprise ethnique. L’article explique en quoi ces petites entreprises chinoises transnationales diffèrent de celles des Chinois arrivés plus tôt au Canada. Une étude détaillée du Programme canadien d’Immigration des Hommes d’affaires explique comment et pourquoi sont apparues ces petites entités transnationales. Les principales données, tirées d’entretiens approfondis avec 61 entrepreneurs chinois, permettent de définir trois types d’entreprises transnationales: production asiatique avec distribution nord–américaine, chaînes de détaillants, et import–export. Des données quantitatives illustrent les grandes différences entre les entreprises ‘transnationales’ et ‘non–transnationales’ en fonction de plusieurs variables. D’autres données quantitatives révèlent de quelle manière les réseaux familiaux s’entremêlent avec les relations professionnelles dans les petites entités transnationales, comment les chefs d’entreprise perçoivent les relations inter–ethniques et dans quelle mesure ils rencontrent des obstacles à leur mobilité. Une importante transmigration est mise en evidence et, par opposition au caractère temporaire du séjour des premiers Chinois, les données suggèrent ici l’émergence d’une nouvelle identité transnationale et cosmopolite chez les immigrants chefs d’entreprise.     

Singapore''s experience with car quotas: Issues and policy processes

This paper examines the policy processes behind Singapore's car quotas. The policy, when filtered through the market mechanism, had a number of unintended consequences. The public's unhappiness with certain features and ‘loopholes’ of the system resulted in many changes to the rules. The effects of recent measures to curb speculation on quota premiums are evaluated. Problems with Singapore's Weekend Car Scheme are also discussed. The lesson for transport policy makers elsewhere is that in attempting to deal with the road congestion problem through car ownership policies, an asset market for vehicles should be taken into account.