Constructing useful theory: The case of Six Sigma

Organizational practices related to Six Sigma are believed to have resulted in improved organizational outcomes. The academic community, however, continues to lack understanding of the constructs and causal relationships underlying Six Sigma. Hence, discussion of Six Sigma is buffeted by anecdotal experience reported from practice. We evaluate Six Sigma through the lens of literature on theory development to explain why the Six Sigma constructs, assumptions, and causal relationships are inconsistent with theory development principles. Dr. Anilkumar N. Kharkar has retired from Corning Incorporated.     

Toward a unified theory of consumer acceptance technology

In the last few decades, scholars and practitioners have increasingly tried to understand the factors that influence technology acceptance. Theories and models developed by scholars have tended to focus on the role of cognition and have rarely included affect. The few studies that have incorporated affect have tended to measure a single emotion rather than modeling it comprehensively. This research addresses that inadequacy in our understanding of technology adoption by merging two previously unrelated models: TAM (the Technology Acceptance Model) and PAD (the Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance paradigm of affect). This study also examines an enhanced view of cognition. The product of this unified theoretical framework is referred to as the Consumer Acceptance of Technology (CAT) model. The results of a test using structural equation modeling provide empirical support for the model. Overall, the CAT model explains over 50% of the variance in consumer adoption intentions, a considerable increase compared to TAM. These findings suggest that substantial improvement in the prediction of technology adoption decisions is possible by use of this model with its integration of affect and cognition. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Contract costing in outsourcing enterprises: Exploring the benefits of discrete-event simulation

Outsourcing is a business strategy that has received much attention. An increase in outsourcing has a direct influence on the complexity of supply chain networks and on the number of contracts required to manage a supply chain. Outsourcing contracts may be entered into relatively quickly without a full understanding of the true cost implications. The research described here aims to develop tools based on discrete-event simulation to aid outsourcing companies when costing contracts. Currently available software for this type of application is reviewed. A field study is presented from the electronics sector, describing companies’ needs with respect to contract costing and how simulation could be used in the contract costing process. Simulation approaches are described for different contract costing scenarios. The paper concludes with a case study of a preliminary simulation model that has been developed to test the concept with a specific outsourcing scenario.     

Partners in protest: parents,unions and anti‐academy campaigns

An analytical framework has been developed in order to enhance our ability to interrogate and understand the critical factors for successful union–community coalitions. The framework is then tested on a single case study, a campaign run by trade unions, parents and community groups engaged in opposing academisation of their community school. The framework helps structure analysis and aids evaluation of the impact of activists' choices on campaign outcomes.     

‘Asset Price Urbanism’ and Financialization after the Crisis: Ireland's National Asset Management Agency

The impact of the global financial crisis on cities is the subject of an important body of research. One aspect which has received surprisingly little attention is the urban dimension of government interventions in the financial sector, particularly given the integration of finance and real estate is widely understood as a key driver of the crisis. This article examines one such intervention, the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), a ‘bad bank' established by the Irish government to acquire and manage ‘toxic' real estate loans from the banking sector. Although envisaged as an intervention in the financial sector, the relationship between finance and real estate is such that the agency has a significant impact on urban development and, at the same time, that the management of urban space plays a key role in resolving the financial crisis and restoring the flow of credit in the economy. The article develops the concept of ‘asset price urbanism' to capture the way in which urban space and its relationship to finance is managed to bolster the relationship between real estate and credit, and theorizes this as a significant aspect of contemporary accumulation. The article thus makes an empirically grounded conceptual contribution to literature on the urban dimension of financialization.     

COMMON FACTORS OF THE EXCHANGE RISK PREMIUM IN EMERGING EUROPEAN MARKETS

Existing empirical evidence suggests that the Uncovered Interest Rate Parity condition may not hold due to an exchange risk premium. For a panel dataset of eleven emerging European economies we decompose this exchange risk premium into an idiosyncratic (country‐specific) element and a common factor using a principal components approach. We present evidence of stationary idiosyncratic and common factors. This result leads to the conclusion of a stationary risk premium for these countries, which is consistent with previous studies often documenting a stationary premium in advanced countries. Furthermore, we report that the variation in the premium is largely attributable to a common factor influenced by economic developments in the United States.     

A Household Production Analysis Of Religious

A bstract Two conventional wisdoms are prevalent among churchgoers with regards to monetary contributions. One is that contributions of their time and money to their church are complementary. The other is that churches are in competition with other charitable organizations for church members'contributions. This study employs the household production model to test these conventional wisdoms. The first is supported (church members who contribute more money also contribute more time) while the second is rejected (churchgoers who contribute more to their church are also more generous to other charitable organizations). Policy implications include advising churches that wish to increase members'financial contributions to focus on increasing member involvement, and to jointly sponsor activities with nonreligious charitable organizations.     

Public policy and social exclusion

Geddes, M. 1997: PARTNERSHIP AGAINST POVERTY AND EXCLUSION? LOCAL REGENERATION STRATEGIES AND EXCLUDED COMMUNITIES IN THE UK. Bristol: T he Policy Press, £12.95 paper.

Perri 6 1997: HOLISTIC GOVERNMENT. London: Demos, £9.95 paper.

Donnisson, D. 1998: POLICIES FOR A JUST SOCIETY. London: Macmillan, £12.50 paper.     

TESTING MODELS OF DIFFERENTIATED PRODUCTS MARKETS: CONSOLIDATION IN THE CABLE TV INDUSTRY

Research on differentiated products markets often uses structural demand/supply models to identify firms' marginal costs as product‐level cost data are unavailable. Using unique demand and cost data from cable TV, I evaluate a differentiated products model's ability to identify marginal costs. I find firms systematically price below profit‐maximizing levels, leading to biases in the model's marginal cost estimates. I study the implications for merger simulations and find that these biases compromise estimates of merger‐related cost efficiencies, yet do not prevent these models from generating useful predictions of the price and nonprice effects of mergers.