New product development projects: The effects of organizational culture

Despite the increasing use of project management within organizations, an attendant poor rate of success among these projects has been observed (Clancy & Stone, 2005; Ives, 2005). Seventy‐five percent of all business transformation projects fail (Collyer, 2000) and only 16% of U.S. IT projects are completed on time and on budget (Peled, 2000). In an attempt to overcome such a high project failure rate, this paper investigates the effects of organizational culture on the performance of particular types of projects: new product development (NPD) projects. Using data from 95 U.S. organizations, the study provides evidence of the significant effects of organizational culture on NPD projects.     

Neuordnung der Besteuerungskompetenzen bei der Einkommensteuer

The controversies over the reform of the German intergovernmental fiscal equalisation system generally concern the equalisation formula at the last step of the tax-sharing system. In order to achieve a financial architecture that truly corresponds with the tasks of the federal government, the states and the municipalities, the tax-sharing schedules also need to be reconsidered. To share the personal income tax according to proportional tax rates for the states and municipalities and to leave the progressive tax rates to the federal level would not only deliver horizontally more equal tax revenues for the sub-federal tiers of government but also increase the vertical flexibility of tax distribution if the federal and state governments then had the right to change “their” tax rates without the approval of the Bundesrat or Bundestag.     

Sovereign debt and corporate borrowing costs in emerging markets

We document that the corporate sector faces higher borrowing costs when the external debt of the public sector is higher. By contrast, no significant relationship is found between domestic public debt and corporate borrowing costs. An increase in sovereign debt by one standard deviation from its sample mean is associated with 9% higher loan yield spreads. The correlation is considerably higher in countries with weak creditor rights and past sovereign default episodes. Overall, these findings suggest substantial adverse linkages between public external debt and private financing costs.     

THE ECONOMICS OF THE UNCOVERED INTEREST PARITY CONDITION FOR EMERGING MARKETS

Abstract Financial account liberalizations since the second half of the 1980s paved the way for the burgeoning literature that investigates foreign exchange market efficiency in emerging markets (EMs) via testing for the uncovered interest parity (UIP) condition. This paper is the first to provide a broad and critical survey on this recent literature. Specifically, we attempt to answer the following questions. First, are the EMs different from the developed economies in the context of the UIP condition? Second, to what extent can these differences contribute to the debate on the UIP literature? Third, what are the empirical challenges specific to the EMs in testing for the UIP condition?     

Einzelbesprechungen

Ohne ZusammenfassungAus dem Französischen übersetzt von Alexander Gerschenkorn, derzeit LetchworthÜbersetzt von J. Steindl     

Industrielle Standortsfragen

Zusammenfassung Wie schon in der Einleitung bemerkt, gibt es sehr verschiedenartige mit dem Standort in Zusammenhang stehende Probleme. Die in der vorliegenden Arbeit behandelten beziehen sich durchwegs auf Monopolunternehmungen. Die Probleme der beiden ersten Abschnitte sind Standortsfragen nur im weiteren Sinne dieses Wortes, nicht Fragen nach dem Standort, sondern Fragen nach der Abhängigkeit der wirtschaftlichen Erscheinungen vom Standort. Es stellt sich dabei heraus, daß für einen Monopolisten, der nur die Erzeugung, nicht aber auch den Vertrieb eines Produktes monopolisiert, die gewöhnliche Monopoltheorie anwendbar bleibt; daß dagegen, wenn der Unternehmer auch den Handel mit seinem Produkt monopolisiert oder doch auf die Zwischenhandelspreise Einfluß nimmt (vergleiche den letzten Absatz in II), die Resultate dieser Theorie in gewisser Weise modifiziert werden. In III und IV sind Gleichungen angegeben, aus denen der für den Unternehmer günstigste Standort des Betriebes berechnet werden kann. Für den Fall III lehren die Gleichungen (6), daß für den Unternehmer derjenige Standort der günstigste ist, bei dem (für die nach I zu berechnenden Preis- und Absatzverhältnisse) die Summe aus Produktions- und Transportkosten ein Minimum ist. Das ist zwar plausibel, aber doch eines Beweises bedürftig und nicht etwa selbstverständlich, was daraus erhellen mag, daß im Falle IV dieses Prinzip keineswegs gilt. Aus den Gleichungen lassen sich verschiedene qualitative Aussagen über den Standort ablesen; z. B. aus (6), daß bei örtlich gleichen Produktionskosten der Standort sich gewissermaßen im Schwerpunkt des Konsums befindet, derart, daß die Transporte nach allen Richtungen möglichst gleichmäßig erfolgen; ebenso einige andere. Natürlich beinhalten die Gleichungen stets mehr als derartige Aussagen.     

The Effective Delivery of a Streaming Video Course Lecture

Abstract

This study compares the effects of a faculty-read non-interactive streaming video lecture to the same lecture read by paid actors on student performance and perceptions. The scope of the study is limited to one learning objective of the first accounting course. No significant differences were found in student performance (n = 46), as measured by quiz grades, or student perceptions, as measured by a survey instrument, between the lectures read by faculty members and the lectures read by actors. These findings have implications for authors of online course content because the results suggest that the effectiveness of a non-interactive video presentation might not be dependent on the presenter. Faculty time might best be spent developing content with paid student actors going on-camera for recording the actual presentation.     

Comprehensive scenario analysis for mitigation of risks of the maritime traffic in the Strait of Istanbul

In this paper, the results of a scenario analysis are presented using the models developed by the authors in their prior work. Therein an aggregate risk-simulation model of the maritime traffic in the Strait of Istanbul was developed giving consideration to traffic rules, vessel profiles, pilotage services, meteorological, geographical conditions, and vessel scheduling. A risk assessment was carried out by incorporating a probabilistic accident risk model into the simulation model to establish a baseline level of risk. Herein, 16 scenarios are described as modifications of the baseline scenario for the purpose of studying maritime risk mitigation in this geographic context. We have evaluated the impact of several factors such as vessel arrival rates, vessel pursuit distances, number of pilots, local traffic density, and vessel scheduling practices such as the single-lane traffic regime start time on safety risks. We also present a discussion on the impact of each factor on vessel passages and waiting times at both entrances of the Strait. We conclude with risk mitigation recommendations that reduce both risk and waiting times, and thus can be considered ‘win-win’ from both an operational and risk reduction perspective.