Emergent patterns of strategy,environment and performance in a transition economy

Insights from the resource dependence approach, dynamic fit, and strategic choice theories are used to explore the strategies adopted by Chinese enterprises, their settings, and the relationship between strategy, environment, and performance. Results from 959 firms indicate that respondents operating under ‘more marketized’ institutional settings tend to locate themselves in more munificent environments and place greater emphasis on meeting customer needs. Firms in China do not trade off one strategic direction against another, and certain strategy/environment coalignments have significant implications for performance. In particular, performance is better in more marketized and munificent environments and amongst firms who adopt an ‘aggressive’ strategic posture. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Impact of Environmental Contamination on Condo Prices: A Hybrid Repeat-Sale/Hedonic Approach

We extend the literature on the impact of externalities using an approach based on a hybrid of hedonic and repeat-sales methods. The externality in question is groundwater contamination in Scottsdale, Arizona. The use of condominium sales allows us to assume that major physical characteristics remain unchanged, but location parameters may be altered by urban growth and development as well as contamination. We find an economically significant discount for properties located in the contaminated area. Interestingly, it does not appear until several years after the contamination becomes publicly known, and it seems to have disappeared before the end of the study period.     

Felony case scheduling policies and continuances: A simulation study

The criminal justice system consists of interacting parts and represents a dynamic process through which the accused moves in stages. This study focuses on felony criminal offenses and the court stage of the judicial process. Specifically this study examines and evaluates utilization of the courtrooms of a legal system under pre-trial policy considerations governing case flow, and identifies problem areas of under-capacity, or bottlenecks. The model presented utilizes simulation as a means of describing the system, and conducting alternative (scheduling) policy requirements. The results of the study reveal that due process can be achieved while minimizing interference with those who want a “speedy trial”.     

Demand relationships and pricing decisions for related products

This paper presents in terms of price changes the theoretical conditions for optimal pricing when products are demand-related. It then suggests an approach which could be used by companies to provide guidance in the pricing of such products over time.     

Organization and human resource professionals in transition

A critical issue confronting business management in the 1980s is how to successfully manage organizations and human resource issues at a time of rapid changes in markets, products, technology, and competition. These issues are aggravated by changing social values, government legislation, and international economics which impact on human resource managers even more. This article argues for a new type of professional, one who combines expertise in aligning the organization structure and culture with human resource systems and business strategy. The organization and human resource professionals (O&HR) role described is not totally new but a logical next generation extension of a role currently found at General Electric.     

Market servicing by multinational manufacturing firms: Exporting versus foreign production

The foreign market servicing behaviour of multinational manufacturing firms evolves over time as a result of the firms' reaction to internal and external pressures. The interplay of immobile ‘location factors’ with internal ‘ownership factors’ under the control of individual enterprises exercises a powerful influence on the choice between exporting and foreign investment. Plant economies of scale encourage exporting, whilst firm level economies of scale, such as the internalization of the fruits of research, may predispose the firm towards foreign investment. Socio-political and cultural elements arising particularly from the nationality of ownership of the firm also influence market servicing strategy.     

On testing the correlation coefficient of a bivariate normal distribution

Summary Here we propose two tests for testing in the bivariate normal population assuming that the ratio of the variances in it is known. The first test (U.M.P.U.) is derived by using the Neyman-Pearson lemma, whereas the second test is obtained through testing the scale parameter of the Cauchy distribution. The powers of the first and second tests are compared with a well-known test, based on the sample correlation coefficient for small and large samples respectively.     

Distribution of product and quotient of Pareto variates

Density and distribution functions are obtained for the product ofn independent Pareto variates with different parameters as well as for the quotient of two independent Pareto variates.Results are given in such a form that for several appropriate values of the parameters, both density and distribution functions can be tabulated.     

Una nuova caratterizzatione dell'ammissibilità nella teoria delle decisioni

In questo lavoro viene fornita una nuova caratterizzazione dell'ammissibilità attraverso un adeguato uso della nozione di ammissibilità parziale. Questa caratterizzazione consente di affrontare le questioni riguardanti la completezza della classe delle decisioni ammissibiliti sotto condizioni «maneggevoli». Fornisce inoltre un approccio unificante al problema della completezza che consente di derivare, come casi particolari, alcuni risultati già noti nella letteratura sull'argomento.

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In this paper a new characterization of admissibility is given for general decision problems. It is based on an adequate use of the notion of partial admissibility.A general decision problem is usually synthetized by a triplet (, , ) where is the states (or parameters) space, the set of available decisions and is a family of real valued functions defined on and expressing numerically the consequences of choosing when the state is . The set is regarded as a subset of the space of all real valued functions on endowed with the topology of pointwise convergence.As for as admissibility is concerned all the pertinent information about decisions are contained in the corresponding functionsW .This allows to introduce a notion of partial admissibility through the neigh-bourhoods of this topology. Admissibile decisions are then shown to be limits of monotone non increasing sequences of partially admissible decisions.Moreover this topological characterization allows to prove the completeness of classes of admissible decisions under acceptable systems of conditions which contain as special cases, known results in literature.

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Lavoro svolto nell'ambito del Gruppo Nazionale per l'Analisi Funzionale e le sue Applicazioni del C.N.R.     

Analysis of conflicts in dynamical environmental systems via catastrophe theory

This paper addresses itself to long-term conflicting issues in environmental policy analysis. After a brief discussion of the ‘new scarcity’ and its subsequent potential perturbations of our economic system in the long run, attention will be paid to some elements of catastrophe theory which may be helpful in gaining insight into the future impacts of inertia and conflicts in environmental management. Next, a fairly simple model for integrating natural resources and production will be constructed so as to illustrate the usefulness of catastrophe theory in economic-energy-environmental systems. The paper will be concluded with a brief judgement of using catastrophe notions in the social sciences.