Across the threshold: Role of performance and compatibility in innovative new products' market penetration

Both academicians and practitioners agree that there exists a critical threshold to cross for an innovative new product to be able to achieve ultimate market penetration. In this article, the authors characterize the threshold as depending upon innovation characteristics: performance and compatibility, in particular. Based on the insights from evolutionary games, several numerical simulations are conducted to investigate how the critical threshold changes as each parameter representing the innovation characteristics undergoes a change. The analysis results confirm that relative advantage and compatibility are of critical influence in impacting the threshold and thus the successful market entry. Moreover, the effect size was different depending on the size of the firm's proprietary customer base. Based on the findings, discussion on new product design strategies for companies having different market positions (i.e., new start-up firms, established firms, and incumbent market leaders) is provided.     

The changing age distribution in Indonesia and some consequences

"Beginning with a discussion of the sources and quality of Indonesian age data by sex, this paper examines the changes in the functional age groups of the population of Indonesia from 1971 to the year 2005, and the implications of these changes for education, labour force participation, dependency ratios and fertility. Data for the period 1971 to 1985 are based on actual enumerations, while those for the period 1990 to 2005 are based on projections. Although the provisional totals of the 1990 Census had been released before the publication of this paper, their breakdown by age was still not available. The functional age categories discussed in the paper include the pre-school years, the primary and intermediate school ages, the teenage years, the reproductive ages of women, the principal working ages and the post-work years. It concludes with a discussion of various policy and planning implications of these changes."     

Revenue and optimality in unequal-sized share auctions

This paper analyzes unequal-sized share auctions with symmetric private-value buyers. The property that each buyer can win at most one unit, but variable-sized, makes share auctions situated between single-unit auctions and multiunit auctions. We calculate revenue and optimality of efficient share auctions and discuss how the optimal reserve valuation varies according to risk attitude towards share size.     

Human Resource Allocation in a CPA Firm: A Fuzzy Set Approach

The review of existing human resource allocation models for a CPA firm shows that there are major shortcomings in the previous mathematical models. First, linear programming models cannot handle multiple objective human resource allocation problems for a CPA firm. Second, goal programming or multiple objective linear programming (MOLP) cannot deal with the organizational differentiation problems. To reduce the complexity in computing the trade-offs among multiple objectives, this paper adopts a fuzzy set approach to solve human resource allocation problems. A solution procedure is proposed to systematically identify a satisfying selection of possible staffing solutions that can reach the best compromise value for the multiple objectives and multiple constraint levels. The fuzzy solution can help the CPA firm make a realistic decision regarding its human resource allocation problems as well as the firm's overall strategic resource management when environmental factors are uncertain.     

An object-oriented optimal savings system: HYPER-SAVINGS

This research develops an intelligent dynamic savings investment system called HYPER-SAVINGS which can construct the best savings portfolio embracing all types of products from multiple banks. Since the major model in HYPER-SAVINGS is the 0–1 integer programming (IP) model, we need to interpret information about investors, products, institutions and the current financial situation for the formulation of the IP model. This has become possible by adopting the knowledge-based integer programming modeling aid, UNIK-IP, which allows the formulation of an IP model at a semantic level using logical operators such as EITHER–OR and IF–THEN, and automatically transforms them to a so-called base level model which can be solved by the IP solver. HYPER-SAVINGS also provides the capability of sensitivity analysis at a semantic level to adjust to dynamic situational changes. Since the system is expected to collect the information from various banks through the Internet and filters out dominated products before formulation, HYPER-SAVINGS can provide the architecture for the international meta-bank on the Internet. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Technology convergence capability and firm innovation in the manufacturing sector: an approach based on patent network analysis

As a consequence of the convergence between manufacturing technology and the foundation technologies of Industry 4.0, it is becoming more important for firms to formulate an innovation strategy for their technological capabilities. In this context, the present study measures firm‐level technology convergence (TC) capability using patent network analysis. A firm’s TC capabilities are measured using three centrality indices pertaining to a patent network, which is constructed based on the relationship between patents and their international patent classification. For the empirical analysis, panel regression is conducted to observe the effect of TC capabilities on innovation for the top 30 firms in four manufacturing industries. We find that the TC degree positively influences the firms’ overall innovation, namely their total number of patents, and negatively influences their convergent innovation, calculated as the ratio between the number of TC patents and the total number of patents, while the effect of TC betweenness is the opposite. These findings imply that while concentrating on similar technologies may promote quick technology application, it could hamper the enhancement of a TC’s potential. To promote TC, a firm should thus develop technologies more likely to be involved in TC.     

Stochastic frontier models with network selectivity

Worker peer-effects and managerial selection have received limited attention in the stochastic frontier analysis literature. We develop a parametric production function model that allows for worker peer-effects in output and worker-level inefficiency that is correlated with a manager’s selection of worker teams. The model is the usual “composed error” specification of the stochastic frontier model, but we allow for managerial selectivity (endogeneity) that works through the worker-level inefficiency term. The new specification captures both worker-level inefficiency and the manager’s ability to efficiently select teams to produce output. As the correlation between the manager’s selection equation and worker inefficiency goes to zero, our parametric model reduces to the normal-exponential stochastic frontier model of Aigner et al. (1977) with peer-effects. A comprehensive application to the NBA is provided.     

Self‐Reported vs. Market Estimated House Values: Are Homeowners Misinformed or Are They Purposely Misreporting?

Extant research finds significant gaps between a homeowner's self‐reported house value and market estimates, and that the gap is largest for underwater homeowners. Prior studies, however, have largely overlooked the possibility that homeowners’ self‐reported house value may be more accurate due to private information. Previous research has also neglected the possibility that there could be discordance between what homeowners know and what they report as their house value. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study examines how the choices of households reveal their knowledge of the true home value. In so doing, we find that that post move housing choices reveal that market estimates are accurate assessments of the housing value. Further, we find evidence that these underwater homeowners are aware of the actual house value, but are reporting them incorrectly. The results show that misreporting underwater homeowners are as likely to be late on their mortgage payments as homeowners that are reporting negative equity. Underwater homeowners’ reluctance to admit their losses accords with the theory of loss aversion.     

Professors on the Board: Do They Contribute to Society Outside the Classroom?

According to our data, 38.5 % of S&P 1500 firms have at least one professor on their boards. Given the lack of research examining the roles and effects of academic faculty as members of boards of directors (professor–directors) on corporate outcomes, this study investigates whether firms with professor–directors are more likely to exhibit higher corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance ratings. Results indicate that firms with professor–directors do exhibit higher CSR performance ratings than those without. However, the influence of professor–directors on firm CSR performance ratings depends on their academic background—the positive association between the presence of professor–directors and firm CSR performance ratings is significant only when their academic background is specialized (e.g., science, engineering, and medicine). Finally, this positive association weakens when professor–directors hold an administrative position at their universities.     

Knight on Religion and Ethics As Agents of Social Change: An Essay to Commemorate the Centennial of Frank H. Knight's Birth

Abstract . A paradigm is developed in this essay based upon Frank H. Knight's thought in order to provide a foundation for analyzing contemporary moral philosophers’efforts to influence public policy. In honor of Knight's 100th birthday in 1985, the role of religious doctrine and ethics in determining social policy is examined in terms of the exegesis which could have been expected of Frank Knight. Knowledge of Knight's views on religion and ethics provides a provocative means of interpreting and evaluating moralism as a force of social change in today's world.