Controlling in ?sterreichischen Familienunternehmen – dargestellt am Bundesland Ober?sterreich

Zusammenfassung Trotz der hohen volkswirtschaftlichen Bedeutung zeichnet sich das Controlling durch eine im Vergleich geringe Besch?ftigung mit dem Thema Familienunternehmen aus. Ausgehend von der Hypothese, dass Familienunternehmen in h?herem Ausma? sozio?konomische Ziele verfolgen und in geringerem Umfang Controlling-Instrumente einsetzen als Nicht-Familienunternehmen, werden die Ergebnisse einer empirischen Untersuchung für die Region Ober?sterreich pr?sentiert. Als Ergebnis dieser Studie zeigt sich, dass die Ziele der befragten Familienunternehmen – abgesehen von der H?he der geforderten Eigenkapitalrenditen – kaum von jenen der Nicht-Familienunternehmen differieren. Andererseits ist bei Familienunternehmen ein hoher Professionalisierungsgrad im Bereich des Einsatzes von Controlling-Instrumenten erkennbar.      

Pflegeverträge prüfen!

Vertr?ge richtig gestalten – Zahlreiche Vertragsklauseln in Pflegevertr?gen wurden nach Klagen des Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverbands gerichtlich für unwirksam erkl?rt. Pflegeanbieter, die sich davor schützen wollen, sollten ihre Pflegevertr?ge auf den Prüfstand stellen. Auf welche Punkte kommt es dabei besonders an?     

Price transmission and local market power: empirical evidence from the Austrian gasoline market

We analyse the impact of local market power on price margins and different dimensions of price adjustment dynamics (speed and asymmetry of price transmission) using data for a large number of individual gasoline stations in Austria. Specific attention is paid to threshold effects in price adjustment. Our results clearly suggest that the speed of price transmission between the Brent crude oil index and retail diesel prices is higher in a more competitive environment. While evidence on the relationship between local market power and asymmetries in the speed of price adjustment is mixed, our findings regarding asymmetries in price thresholds are clear: in regions where competition from neighbouring rivals is weak and/or consumers’ price elasticity of demand is low (stations located on the highway), positive thresholds significantly exceed negative ones, which corresponds to the ‘rockets and feathers phenomenon’. As expected, we observe that prices are lower in more competitive local markets.     

Does North-South horizontal intra-industry trade really exist? An analysis of the toy industry

Does North-South Horizontal Intra-Industry Trade Really Exist? An Analysis of the Toy Industry. — In a combination of a case study approach and econometric analysis, bilateral intra-industry trade between high income countries and low income countries in the toy industry is investigated. In a number of products there is important bilateral intra-industry trade between both groups of countries. Econometric analysis in which a number of the explanatory variables used were quantified on the basis of the information supplied by the industry-spokesmen yields results which strongly support the view that the bilateral IIT between the high income countries and the low income countries in the toy industry is determined significantly by horizontal product differentiation and economies of scale.     

A note on the space of preference relations

The space of irreflexive, transitive, and continuous binary relations of R^l endowed with the topology of closed convergence, and subsets of defined by various other properties of the relations are investigated. It is shown that the subsets defined by properties, which one often assumes in general equilibrium theory, have nice topological properties such as compactness or G₈-ness.     

Relating the philosophy and practice of ecological economics: The role of concepts, models, and case studies in inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability research

We develop a general and unifying methodology for ecological economics which integrates philosophical considerations on the foundations of ecological economics with an adequate operationalization. We argue that the subject matter and aims of ecological economics require a specific combination of inter- and transdisciplinary research, and discuss the epistemological position on which this methodology is based. In accordance with this understanding of inter- and transdisciplinarity and the underlying epistemological position, we develop an operationalization which comprises simultaneous analysis on three levels of abstraction: concepts, (generic) models and case studies. This provides a systematic and integral view on ecological economics, and thus allows one to see the relationship between contributions to the field that have so far been perceived as very heterogeneous and largely unrelated. At the same time, this methodological framework may provide orientation for the further development of ecological economics.     

External balance,dynamic efficiency,and the welfare effects of unilateral and multilateral permit policies in interdependent economies

This paper investigates domestic and foreign welfare effects of unilateral and multilateral permit policies in a two-country overlapping generations model with producer carbon emissions. We show that the welfare effects of a more stringent cap on emissions depend on the external balance of the policy implementing country, the dynamic (in)efficiency of the world economy, and the preference for environmental quality. Under dynamic efficiency, the global welfare loss of policy implementation in a net foreign creditor country is lower than of a policy in the net foreign debtor country. Moreover, although the country which has unilaterally implemented a permit policy would gain from a multilateral policy, the associated welfare loss for the other country is larger than that of a unilateral policy abroad.     

Sustainability impacts of car road pricing: A computable general equilibrium analysis for Austria

Nationwide car road pricing schemes are discussed across Europe. We analyse the impacts of such schemes with respect to environmental, economic and social indicators of sustainability, also quantifying the trade-offs among these three dimensions under different charging principles and revenue recycling options. In our analysis we employ a computable general equilibrium (CGE) approach, develop a modelling structure for private transport and provide detailed empirical analysis for the case of Austria. Regarding the social dimension, it has often been argued that poorer households (and commuters) would have to bear a disproportionate share of the road pricing burden. We find the contrary, i.e. a stronger negative policy impact on richer households, and on a small group of intensive car users. The choice of revenue recycling is able to ameliorate the negative social and economic effects of road pricing, without reversing the desired positive environmental effects. For political feasibility, questions of distributional impacts are most urgent and therefore we address them systematically within a quantitative framework.     

Environmentally Sustainable Transport: Definition and Long-Term Economic Impacts for Austria

The transition to an environmentally sustainable transport system involves a combination of technological and demand-side transport policies. Regulatory, educational and economic instruments can be used to enhance the development of cleaner transport technologies as well as the shift from road-based towards more environmentally benign modes of transport. This article provides estimates of overall economic impacts in the long term and describes the required change in the transport system. The article proceeds in three steps. First, this article reviews concepts of sustainability and applies them to transportation. Second, a small open economy computable general equilibrium model for Austria is developed to evaluate the long-term macroeconomic and sectoral impacts of a sustainable freight transport policy. Third, simulation results are discussed and conclusions drawn concerning the crucial features of a sustainable freight transport policy.Although the required transition within the transport system is substantial, the economic costs in terms of GDP are comparably low and employment is likely to increase slightly.     

Strategies as Discursive Constructions: The Case of Airline Alliances

ABSTRACT In this paper, we argue that by examining the discursive elements in strategy talk we can contribute to our understanding of the myriad of micro‐processes and practices that make up strategies. We focus on airline alliances as a particularly illustrative case. Based on a critical discourse analysis of an extensive material of strategy talk on airline alliances, we point to five types of discursive practices that characterize strategizing in this context in 1995–2000: (1) problematization of traditional strategies; (2) rationalization, objectification and factualization of alliance benefits; (3) fixation of ambiguous independence concerns; (4) reframing of cooperation problems as ‘implementation’ issues; and (5) naturalization of alliance strategies. While we want to emphasize the context‐specificity of these practices, we claim that similar types of discursive practices are also likely to be an inherent part of strategizing in other settings.