削减成本的更好方式

把成本削减平摊到公司所有部门的做法看似公平,但却毫无意义。目标明确的成本削减和构建能力的尝试才是明智之举。     

Comparing theories to explain e-commerce adoption

E-commerce is a strategy for rapid growth, especially by small and medium sized businesses (SMEs). However, the adoption rate of e-commerce by SMEs in Latin America is still undersized. The authors compare the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the theory of reasoned action (TRA) using structural equation modeling to determine which is better at predicting e-commerce adoption intentions among 210 SME managers/owners in Chile. Contrary to previous research with American respondents, the study does not find significant differences between the two theories. Thus, academics should select the more parsimonious model (TRA) to study e-commerce adoption issues in developing countries.     

An Intelligent Distributed System for Strategic Decision Making

The decision-making process in strategic planning is often too complex to be handled by conventional methods. Strategic planning problems (building new plans, new product planning, etc.) belong to the class of problems called ill-structured by H. Simon. They involve a decomposition of the main problem into a set of subproblems, a reasoning process at the subproblem level, and then a coordinated and aggregated process to build a global solution. Because partial solutions are generated without having a complete view of the global objective, this type of decision-making process very often generates incoherent and contradictory hypotheses and actions. Therefore, the main problem is to find a way to achieve coherence and coordination among decisions made locally by different agents, at different levels.Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence, particularly in the field of multi-agent theory, offer great promises in modeling strategic planning processes. In this article we present a general framework called 'A Coherent Plan of Coordinated Actions (CPCA)' for building intelligent distributed strategic decision making systems which integrates advances in both distributed decision making and Distributed Artificial Intelligence. We then describe a multi-blackboard system, ARISTOTE, which is aimed at helping corporate managers address the feasibility and coherence of a plan of actions.     

A GPS data-based analysis of built environment influences on bicyclist route preferences

This study examines the effects of built environment features, including factors of land use and road network, on bicyclists' route preferences using the data from the city of Seattle. The bicycle routes are identified using a GPS dataset collected from a smartphone application named “CycleTracks.” The route choice set is generated using the labeling route approach, and the cost functions of route alternatives are based on principal component analyses. Then, two mixed logit models, focusing on random parameters and alternative-specific coefficients, respectively, are estimated to examine bicyclists' route choice. The major findings of this study are as follows: (1) the bicycle route choice involves the joint consideration of convenience, safety, and leisure; (2) most bicyclists prefer to cycle on shorter, flat, and well-planned bicycle facilities with slow road traffic; (3) some bicyclists prefer routes surrounded by mixed land use; (4) some bicyclists favor routes which are planted with street trees or installed with street lights; and (5) some bicyclists prefer routes along with city features. This analysis provides valuable insights into how well-planned land use and road network can facilitate efficient, safe, and enjoyable bicycling.     

Social identity, inequality and conflict

I extend the standard materialistic rational choice model of conflict to consider groups. In particular, I consider how the aggregate amount of conflict in society depends on which groups form and oppose each other. The study is motivated by empirical findings about the relationship between inequality, conflict and economic development. I focus on a salient comparison: ethnic groups vs. social classes. I show that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, class conflict is not necessarily worse than ethnic conflict. In fact, ethnic conflict is general worse when the distribution of income is more equal. I also investigate the impact of the fact that while ethnicity is immutable, since there is social mobility, class is not. I show that the direct impact of mobility of conflict is as conventionally believed, but that there are important indirect effects which make the net effect ambiguous. Received: June, 1998 / Accepted: November 22, 1999     

Why Has Australian Wages Growth Been So Low? A Phillips Curve Perspective

Wages growth in Australia has recently been the lowest in two decades. One possible explanation is a decline in the non‐accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU). We examine this hypothesis by estimating a wage Phillips curve including a time‐varying NAIRU. Our findings are: (i) the NAIRU has recently been around 5.5 per cent; (ii) our approach increases the precision of the NAIRU estimates; (iii) low inflation expectations have been an important contributing factor; and (iv) the long‐run annual wages growth is nearly 3 per cent. We also find that the underutilisation rate suggests greater slack exists, but is less useful in explaining wage developments.     

Accrual accounting and Australian fiscal policy

Australian governments have recently moved from cash accounting to accrual accounting. Accrual accounting has been accompanied at the national government level by the introduction of a new key fiscal policy measure: the ‘fiscal balance’. This paper explains and evaluates this new fiscal measure. It concludes that, given the present fiscal policy of the Australian government, fiscal balance is a superior fiscal policy measure to the ‘cash’ budget balance measure which it replaced. However, from the alternative ‘golden rule’ policy standpoint, fiscal balance is not a meaningful fiscal policy measure — although its stock counterpart, net financial liabilities, certainly is.     

Worth waiting for: increasing satisfaction by making consumers wait

A truism in the marketing literature, and among many marketing practitioners, is that requiring consumers to wait negatively impacts quality evaluations, purchase intentions and a range of other important outcomes. However, it is also true that consumer waiting or queuing has historically been considered from an operations perspective. The present research takes a different approach and examines waits in the context of their ability to function as a signal of quality. Four experiments demonstrate a required wait can indeed signal quality to consumers and increase, rather than decrease, both purchase intentions and actual experienced satisfaction. Three moderators of this effect are examined: preexisting knowledge, consumption motivations, and the extent to which quality is difficult to objectively determine. The results suggest in situations where quality is important, unknown or ambiguous, managers may increase consumer satisfaction by making consumers wait.     

Challenges and Risks in the International Monetary System

SPECIAL ISSUE OF OPEN ECONOMIES REVIEW

Challenges and Risks in the International Monetary System