Systemtheorie,Shareholder Value-Konzept und Stakeholder-Konzept als theoretisch-konzeptionelle Bezugsrahmen der Balanced Scorecard

Zusammenfassung  Die theoretisch-konzeptionelle Würdigung der Balanced Scorecard steht trotz ihres Siegeszuges in der Praxis noch immer in den Anf?ngen. Der vorliegende Beitrag weist die Systemtheorie, das Shareholder Value-Konzept und das Stakeholder-Konzept als theoretisch-konzeptionelle Bezugsrahmen der Balanced Scorecard aus. Damit werden zugleich Modifikationsm?glichkeiten der Balanced Scorecard angedeutet, die sich aus einer noch konsequenteren Anlehnung an einen der drei Ans?tze ergeben k?nnten. Prof. Dr. Jan K?rnert ist Inhaber des Stiftungslehrstuhls für Allgemeine Betriebswirtschaftslehre, insb. Internationales Finanzmanagement/Kapitalm?rkte Dr. Cornelia Wolf ist Gesch?ftsführerin des Studentenwerkes Greifswald     

On mandatory labeling of animal welfare attributes

This paper assesses US resident support for mandatory labeling of animal welfare information on pork and egg products and outlines policy considerations for assessment prior to implementing any mandatory labeling policies regarding animal welfare practices. Results suggest consumers support mandatory labeling indicating use of gestation crates (stalls) and laying hen cages. Estimates suggest consumers would be willing to pay about 20% higher pork and egg prices to obtain this production practice information. Demographic and latent perception drivers of this support are highlighted. Multiple issues that warrant consideration prior to imposing mandatory labeling are discussed revealing lines of corresponding future research.     

Linking JIT strategies and control systems: A comparison of the United States and Japan

Potential blows to US competitiveness by Japanese manufacturers have been instrumental in stimulating interest in the development of manufacturing strategy theory and its importance at the level of competitive strategy. Unfortunately, little substantial empirical research effort has attempted to measure manufacturing strategy and to explore its potential linkages with management control systems in the United States and Japan. This study expands the empirical data base available on this topic by exploring the adoption of just-in-time strategies, and the use of management control systems associated with the implementation of inventory reduction and flexibility initiatives in the United States and Japan.     

Reactions to Shocks and Monetary Policy Regimes: Inflation Targeting Versus Flexible Currency Board in Sub‐Saharan Africa

The paper examines the monetary policy actions through which central banks in sub‐Saharan Africa have tried to eliminate the negative impacts of the shocks facing their economies. We compare two different monetary policy regimes: a currency board regime (in the CFA zone) and an inflation targeting policy regime (Ghana and South Africa) when central banks respond to demand, supply, and fiscal shocks. We extend the usual forecasting and policy analysis system models to replicate the economic features of these economies during the period 2002–12 and to evaluate the impact of several policies in response to these shocks. We find that both policies are inappropriate in helping the economies escape from the effects of negative demand shocks, both are essential when negative shocks to primary balance occur, while inflation targeting dominates the currency board regime as a strategy to cope with positive shocks to inflation.     

BRITISH EMPLOYEES: RESPONDING TO JAPANESE MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHIES

Japan's industrial success has opened new opportunities in the area of business research and has generated particular interest in 'the Japanese way of doing things'. One specific area of concern has been that of job satisfaction and its relation to productive achievement. The study carried out in the United Kingdom involving one American, two ideally-matched Japanese subsidiaries and one British company, all involved in television manufacturing, refutes certain stereotypes about Japanese management. First, the study revealed that the two Japanese companies employed distinct personnel policies which were reflected in the differences in job satisfaction registered by their employees. Second, it showed that the paternalistic personnel policies instituted by one Japanese company were not preconditions for its high productive achievement but, selectively applied, generated appreciative feelings among its British work-force.     

Loan Market Competition and Bank Risk-Taking

Recent literature (Boyd and De Nicoló, J Finance 60:1329–1343, 2005) has argued that competition in the loan market lowers bank risk by reducing the risk-taking incentives of borrowers. Using a model where competition arises from falling switching costs for entrepreneurs, we show that the impact of loan market competition on banks is reversed if banks can adjust their loan portfolios. The reason is that when borrowers become safer, banks want to offset the effect on their balance sheet and switch to higher-risk lending. They even overcompensate the effect of safer borrowers because loan market competition erodes their franchise values and thus increases their risk-taking incentives.     

Bonds versus stocks: Investors’ age and risk taking

It has become increasingly popular to advise investors to relocate their funds from a primarily stock portfolio to a primarily bond portfolio as they get older. However, the well-known decision rules such as mean–variance or stochastic dominance rules are unable to explain this common practice. Almost stochastic dominance (ASD) and almost mean–variance (AMV) approaches are used to examine the dominance of stock and bond portfolios. ASD and AMV rules unambiguously support the popular practice of advising higher stock to bond ratio for long investment horizons. Hence, we provide an explanation to the practitioners’ recommendation within the expected utility paradigm.