Demand fluctuations and capacity utilization under duopoly

Summary.  This paper studies the impact of uncertain demand on firms’ capacity decisions when they operate in an oligopolistic environment. We define a two-stage game where firms choose capacity in the first stage without knowing which state of Nature is going to realize, and output levels in the second, knowing which state is realized. We prove the existence of a symmetric subgame perfect equilibrium at which firms are in excess capacity compared with the capacity they would choose in the Cournot certainty equivalent game. Received: May 17, 1996; revised version July 31, 1996     

Ill-behaviour of transformation-frontiers with environmental quality versus pollution

If one looks at environmental quality N as a renewable natural resource (with its own natural dynamics) which is changed by emissions Z, then one gets a better understanding of the shape of the damage function. In the case of a logistic growth dynamics one obtains a well-shaped transformation frontier N(Z), even in a two-species natural dynamics. For a more general natural interaction in the framework of a prey-predator model one obtains the possibilities of a cusp catastrophe which makes the transformation frontier N(Z) ill-shaped for the standard arguments of economists and their most favoured environmental policy instruments.     

Computing equilibria of GEI by relocalization on a Grassmann manifold

An algorithm is described to compute equilibria of the general economic model with incomplete asset markets, that is, of GEI. The algorithm is based on the existence of a route of zeros of a homotopy whose domain includes the price simplex and a Grassmann Manifold. This route is followed, in effect, by localizing and following diffeomorphic pieces in Euclidean space, and by relocalizing as is necessary.     

Buildings for the Japanese information economy : Neighbourhood and resort offices

A new physical infrastructure to support activities based on communications and the transmission of information is being developed. Part of this infrastructure includes the construction of ‘intelligent’ buildings which are seen to play as important a role in improving efficiency of office workers as automation has played on the shopfloor of manufacturing industry. The location of these buildings is important. This article focuses on two types of experimental office development—neighbourhood offices and resort offices.     

Corporate Social Performance, Stakeholder Orientation, and Organizational Moral Development

This article begins with an explanation of how moral development for organizations has parallels to Kohlberg's categorization of the levels of individual moral development. Then the levels of organizational moral development are integrated into the literature on corporate social performance by relating them to different stakeholder orientations. Finally, the authors propose a model of organizational moral development that emphasizes the role of top management in creating organizational processes that shape the organizational and institutional components of corporate social performance. This article represents one approach to linking the distinct streams of business ethics and business-and-society research into a more complete understanding of how managers and firms address complex ethical and social issues.     

Ethical Outsourcing in UK Financial Services: Employee Rights

Outsourcing is becoming a major option in British business, including the financial services industry, and it raises a number of ethical considerations. The author of this major ethical study contends that "Outsourcing seems to present a particular threat to employees ... because of the factors which have led to outsourcing and the way in which it tends to work." Mike Henderson is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and Senior Lecturer in Financial Services in the School of Financial Studies and Law of Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus, Pond Street, Sheffield S1 1WB, England.     

Retailing from the margins - the re-emergence of a food co-operative movement?

The disadvantage faced by low-income food consumers has long been recognized, with such groups likely to pay more for their food products, which are commonly limited in terms of range and quality. Such disadvantage stems not only from economic constraints, but also from geographical, sociodemographic and infrastructural factors, such as low car ownership levels (which limit mobility), age, family structure and infirmity. Issues of access and mobility are especially pertinent given that the majority of U.K. food retailers have sought to achieve increased market share through the pursuit of economies of scale, the inherent benefit of high margin maintenance, large format development and the relocation to edge-of-town/out-of-town and affluent suburban sites. To date, little attention in the form of research has been directed to examining strategies adopted by those on low incomes to address such circumstances. This paper outlines the initial findings of a wider longitudinal study that examines the activities of food co-operatives and food groups within the Glasgow area, which are run by, and are for the benefit of, those on low incomes. Through semi-structured interviews with relevant local government departments and funding bodies, management committees and volunteers involved in the daily operation of food groups, the initial aim was to identify the operational and organizational characteristics of food cooperative initiatives. The next stage was to determine what those involved perceived as the contribution made to the members and wider community, and finally, future opportunities for food cooperatives were identified. The results therefore, provide an invaluable insight, not only into the workings of food co-operatives, but also into the experience of those on low incomes in respect of food shopping. The research findings, perhaps ironically, provide a possible strategic direction for food retailers who, in the face of traditional market saturation, must identify new market growth opportunities within areas that they have previously neglected.